When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, millions of refugees left their homes and fled abroad for safety and opportunities. Three students here are among them.
Uliana Pokutnia, Nikita Shovkomud and Oleksandr “Sasha” Stelmakh are currently enrolled at the university after leaving their home country to pursue higher education.
Stelmakh, a junior computer science major, is from Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
“I came here the second of April 2022, so two and a half years ago. I enrolled to the university immediately and started my freshman year,” says Stelmakh.
He describes the first hours of the invasion as scary, saying, “On the 24th of February my mom woke me up at like 6 a.m. and said, ‘Wake up, the war started.’ There were some explosions near Kyiv.”
Family friends helped him, and his mother, Yulia, settle in the United States.
Having a similar experience, Pokutnia, a freshman finance major from Kremenchuk, recounts the shock and confusion in the central Ukrainian city that day.
“It was really stressful. We didn’t have any network because everyone was on their phones. It was really hard to call someone and understand what was happening. It was just a lot of confusion and uncertainty,” Pokutnia says.
Having a different experience, Shovkomud, a freshman computer science major, was on vacation abroad when he received texts and calls from family notifying him of explosions in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa.
“I got a call from my mom at like 5 a.m. with the phrase ‘we are all OK,’” says Shovkomud.
Upon returning home, he recalls having to adapt to the new realities of life in war.
“The first sound of alarms was kind of a new sound. It was disturbing. It’s not the thing you want to hear. You get used to it, unfortunately. Getting used to the sounds of explosions is not the best thing,” says Shovkomud.
Shovkomud arrived in the United States in mid-2022, after spending months in various European countries, while Pokutnia arrived in August 2022.
Both Shovkomud and Pokutnia enrolled at Saint Bernard High School in Uncasville for their junior and senior years of high school, before starting at Southern.
“I initially wanted to go to America for an exchange year, or something, before the war started. But when the war started, my parents wanted me to study abroad because it wasn’t safe there,” says Pokutnia.
Shovkomud completed his Ukrainian high school education online, and returned to Ukraine briefly in June 2023 for his high school graduation ceremony. That was interrupted by air raid alarms.
Stelmakh, meanwhile, enrolled in his freshman year at the university soon after arriving in the United States.
All three say that attending university in the United States has given them more opportunities and friendships.
“I like it so far. I’ve met a lot of friends, and a lot of people from different backgrounds. It’s really interesting to be in a university in America,” says Shovkomud.
Both Shovkomud and Pokutnia have found sports to be an exciting way to connect with American culture. Shovkomud recently joined the university’s club soccer team, while Pokutnia is on the track team. Both competed in those respective sports in high school.
“I did dance in Ukraine, but when I came here, they had certain sports in high school and I thought I might as well pick something. I decided to do track and now I love doing track,” says Pokutnia.
Currently, Ukrainian males between the ages of 18 and 60 are prevented from leaving their country, so Shovkomud and Stelmakh are staying in the United States.
“It’s hard not to see your family for such a long time,” says Pokutnia, empathizing with them.
Ukraine does not allow dual citizenship, but the three students say they intend to give up their Ukrainian passports to take American citizenship in the future.
Regarding getting citizenship, Pokutnia says: “It’s a hard process. I’d love to. But I’m not really focused on that right now, even though I’d like to start looking into ways I can do that.”
Stelmakh says he looks forward to obtaining an American passport and visiting his extended family in Ukraine.
“I am going to stay in the U.S. When I get my U.S. passport, I will go visit them,” says Stelmakh.
“I really hope that by the time I’m out of college, the war is going to be over,” says Pokutnia.
Being a college student who left Ukraine after the start of the invasion is a rare experience that Pokutnia, Stelmakh and Shovkomud share.
All three say that having friends who understand their experiences, and having been through the same things is important.“People know what’s happening in Ukraine, but it’s hard when you aren’t from the same country to understand what is going through our mind on a daily basis,” says Pokutnia.
