Olga Droniak on the background of the University of Notre Dame, where she studied as an exchange student, USA
We know that the media, especially foreign publications, wrote a lot about a possible war long before it started, yes, in the spring of 2021 there was news of a possible offensive. Did you expect something like this, or did what happened come as a complete shock?
The Russian offensive was not a shock for me, as I am a student of political science, and in class we constantly discuss current news and articles. In addition, I had friends from Odesa and Irpin who were feeling very anxious about the news of a possible full-scale invasion and so they shared their experiences. I am from western Ukraine, a relatively safe place, but I remember that I also felt uneasy. On February 21, we had a meeting in the Collegium, the dormitory of the Ukrainian Catholic University, dedicated to the Revolution of Dignity. On the same day, Putin announced the accession of the LNR and DNR to Russia. And I was so sad that I did not even want to do any housework – it was already a sign that the president of Russia was beginning to implement his plan. It was the first time for me that while watching various documentary videos about Maidan, in addition to feeling pride for the Ukrainian people, I also felt fear, anxiety, and anger.
Can you please remember where you were on February 24, when this terrible war began, what was going through your mind then?
On February 24, I was at the UCU Collegium in Lviv. I woke up from the alarm at 6:30, I was going to go to offline classes. Out of habit, I first checked my email, because there could be important information, for example, about the transfer of classes to the online format, because at that time a new wave of COVID-19 was spreading. Instead, I saw a letter from a teacher from the United States who wrote to our group with words of support and his phone number. It seemed a little strange to me, but I didn’t focus on this letter for a long time, but again automatically opened Telegram and realized from the news that Russia had attacked us. Then I woke up my roommate and called my mother, who was in Ivano-Frankivsk. My mother did not immediately believe me because she was still sleeping and did not have time to see the news. Later, she went to look outside and saw a cloud of smoke that appeared as a result of the shelling of the airport.
Can you say that this war has simply changed the direction of your life, that before February 24 and after — it’s like two different people, with different thoughts, different outlook?
No matter how strange it may sound, but no, this war did not change me radically. Yes, we all became wiser, more mature and conscious. But even before the war, I was a conscious citizen of my country – I spoke Ukrainian, I worked on projects for my school and the youth of the region, I practiced our folk traditions. I also chose to major in political science so that in the future I could serve Ukraine as a political leader and not harm it with my ignorance. Therefore, even before the war, I wanted to join the change-makers and work on improving Ukraine, to make it better place to work and live in. The Russian invasion made this desire even stronger.
How was your hometown affected by the Russian invasion? What is the situation like there today, in the context of Russia’s terrorist shelling of our infrastructure?
My hometown, Ivano-Frankivsk, was shelled three times – the local airport was hit on the first day of the full-scale invasion. The next two missile attacks were recorded in March, and since then, thanks to God and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Frankivsk has not been subjected to enemy shelling. However, recently in the region, as well as in the whole of Ukraine, the electrical infrastructure was damaged.
Now many of our citizens become volunteers to contribute to our victory, donate funds to support the Armed Forces, join various organizations that somehow help our soldiers and civilians. Are you involved in such organizations, foundations, communities? If yes, can you please describe what they do?
When the war began, I was the head of the UCU Collegium Media Team – I coordinated a large team that covered the life of the students of the Collegium (dormitory) in social networks. At first, I thought that our activity was probably not relevant, and we should do something more useful for Ukraine. However, later I realized that it is important to show how the student lives in times of war—show how a young person conducts first aid trainings, how it has earned a dozen volunteering points or just how students spend time in the shelter. In addition, our team organized two campaigns—”Charity auction of paintings” and “T-shirt for $1”, with the help of which we raised 14 000 UAH and transferred to the “Army SOS” fund. Therefore, it is not necessary to be involved in any charitable foundation—you can organize yourself with your community or friends and help in this way. If everyone starts to raise even small amounts of money, together we will achieve a great result.
What do you consider your personal mission during the war, what would you like to do most as a student while this confrontation continues?
I believe that in this difficult time, everyone should do what they can do best. I am a student, so I see it as my duty to study hard and look for different academic opportunities that will make me a better specialist who will start working in Ukraine in a few years. For example, in the autumn semester I took the opportunity to study on an exchange program at the University of Notre Dame, USA. There I studied international relations, world politics and policymaking in the modern world. This is definitely high-quality and necessary knowledge that I will be able to apply in my profession during the war and later on, during Ukraine’s recovery. At the beginning of the war, many of my peers said that education was not a priority, because mental health and volunteering were more important. I do not quite agree with this opinion, because, firstly, university gives us the opportunity to socialize, talk to someone and break away from the news for a while. Secondly, we do not want to become as uneducated as our northern neighbors. And thirdly, studying and volunteering in Ukraine can be easily combined. Most of my friends who went abroad for exchange organize various fairs and events on Ukrainian topics, raise funds for the army or simply spread information about Ukraine abroad. And that’s where I see my personal mission — to use the educational opportunities that the world offers in this difficult time, but at the same time to volunteer and use these opportunities for the maximum benefit of Ukraine.
University of Notre Dame, USA (photo from the web)
So, you got a great opportunity to spend a semester studying at one of the best universities in the United States—University of Notre Dame. How did you like studying abroad, what are the biggest advantages compared to studying in Ukraine? What are, perhaps, the disadvantages in which Ukrainian education is better for you personally?
An exchange semester in the USA is my lucky ticket in life. Notre Dame is the 18th in the ranking of national universities in the United States, and this is a very high position. These four months passed incredibly fast for me, because my every day was filled with new events, new people, and new knowledge. A big positive thing was that we studied there offline and lived in the dormitory community. I’m glad that I was finally able to feel the taste of student life, because in Ukraine the pandemic and war deprived us of student years to some extent. Before leaving, I had some concerns about whether it would be difficult for me to study in the United States. However, already in the process of studying, I realized that I have a good base of knowledge and skills that I received at UCU. Ukrainian universities, of course, need reform, but they are already making their confident steps towards improvement and use the best educational practices of the world.
Olga at the University of Notre Dame, USA
Within the framework of this semester program abroad, as I saw on your Facebook page, together with your classmates you held class events on the topic of Ukraine, the war, such as “Voices from Ukraine”. What is the reaction of foreign students and teachers to such difficult topics of war? What are the most frequently asked questions in America about Ukraine?
It is important to say that in most cases we were not the organizers of these events – it was individual university departments that initiated various events on Ukraine and involved us, which is very valuable. We spoke at several conferences, held the already mentioned panel discussion “Voices from Ukraine”, celebrated the Independence Day of Ukraine, gave several interviews and even took part in the famous American “Theater of War”. Our new American friends always responded to our invitations, they came to our events and supported us. We were pleasantly surprised, because it is not easy to get your peers or teachers to visit an event. There are always a lot of events at the university, but students’ free time is limited. The questions to us were different – both simple and deep, philosophical. For example, how will Ukraine solve the language issue after the war? What measures will be taken to ensure there will be less and less Russian. Or they would ask an ordinary question about our experience, so that we could tell about our moments of life in the war.
Olga is with her fellow students at the panel “Voices from Ukraine”
Olga with fellow students demonstrating a Ukrainian flag, University of Notre Dame, USA
Does it seem that people abroad sometimes lack understanding of certain realities of the war in our country, because they only see this war on the news, not live, and the news itself is not always as objective as possible?
Yes, unfortunately, people abroad mostly do not know all the details of the war in Ukraine. This is what I saw in the United States and what is natural in principle. We, Ukrainians, want the attention of foreigners to be focused on the events that we are experiencing now, but this was the case only in the first weeks of the war. Despite the fact that the topic of the Russian invasion is regularly covered in foreign media, foreigners, so to speak, “got used to it”. This happens not only abroad, but also here in Ukraine. Now we spread less information about the war in our social networks, many of us have already “adapted” our lives to the conditions of war. The same tendency is observed among foreigners. That is why we, exchange students from Ukraine, were, as Americans often called us, ambassadors of Ukraine. And of course, this format of live communication is much more effective than just watching the news. Personal stories evoke more empathy than just facts in the news.
New Year holidays are approaching, the New Year is coming soon. Although we are at war, it doesn’t mean, I believe, that we have to “give up” life, New Year’s wishes and dreams. What are your biggest wishes for the next year?
My wish for 2023 is for every Ukrainian mother, wife, and child to see their defender alive and well. Our warriors are a strong fortress that stands firm so that we all have the opportunity to continue “normal life”. Therefore, my wish is more endurance, great health and strength for all those who are now at the front protecting me, my family and friends. I dream that Ukrainians do not lose heart either in the absence of light or during another enemy shelling. By having a strong rear and front, we are guaranteed to have our victory over the aggressor.
Translator: Ivan Chepaykin
