Grateful Reflections
"I learned what it means to be a representative of my country and how important that is."
This exchange year was like one big rollercoaster, especially for Ukrainian students. I could do an enormous essay about how this year changed me. It made me love myself, change my values and personality, appreciate what I have, and realize how much I love my country. 2021/22 was the best year of my life and made me believe that I can do A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G!
I met a wonderful host community, an international students group, and, of course, my host family. Franklin is not a big town, but there are so many opportunities to get to know people, help, and volunteer.
My path to gaining more than 100 volunteer hours gave me lots of pleasure! My international student friends are the coolest and most progressive young people ever. It's insane how each of us has such a unique story. I realized how much I love an international environment and I want to connect my life with it.
My host family made me feel loved like never before and they made my dreams come true. Before coming to the U.S., I hadn't been able to travel. But here, I saw New York City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Honolulu, Niagara Falls, the Smokey Mountains, and Chicago. One year ago, I'd have been shocked to know that I’d be going to those places!
Seeing other places made me look at the world differently and leave my old stereotypes behind. My host parents helped me with my ups and downs and they were always there for me. I cannot express how grateful I am to my coordinator, Sabrina Hickey, for finding those amazing humans.
My host parents helped me with my ups and downs and they were always there for me. I cannot express how grateful I am to my coordinator, Sabrina Hickey, for finding those amazing humans.
My high school, Franklin Community High School, is my favorite school forever. I tried so many different things like bowling, track and field, theater, choir and show choir, and a variety of different clubs. It expanded my interests dramatically, made me a real extrovert, and improved me as a leader!
All of the teachers and friends were always nice to me, supported me, and answered all of my questions. I have so many funny stories with my friends here, especially from Halloween and Christmas. It's heartbreaking to realize that the school year ends in a few days, because my first day of school, in August, feels like it was yesterday.
I learned what it means to be a representative of my country and how important that is. Many people make assumptions about your country based on you. I learned how to be a good speaker, be respectful of others, and ask for help if I want to do something big!
Before the invasion, not everyone knew about my country. That inspired me to show them how great my country is. I did 11 International Education Week presentations, helped to present Ukraine with Girl Scouts, cooked Ukrainian cuisine, and taught Ukrainian to others.
I'm happy that I had a lot of impact before the invasion, because at least for people in my community it wasn't just a random country. They knew the backstory and had a personal connection—me. Now, everyone knows what Ukraine is. The Ukrainian exchange student community did a great job fundraising and helping.
Every day, I try as much as I can to educate people, share awareness, put posters around the school, and tell my story. I went to the protests in Indy and got interviewed by NBC. Since the 24th of February, that rollercoaster I was talking about in the beginning went down for a lot of people—millions to be specific.
I want to say a huge thank you to anyone supporting Ukraine. I truly believe the light will triumph and my dear Ukraine will rise again, even stronger and more beautiful than ever before.
Forever grateful to the PAX community,
—Viktoriia (FLEX, Ukraine), hosted by the Copp family (IN)
