Teens Who Fled War Are Now Graduating from U.S. School and Remembering Family They Left Behind
A group of teens who fled the war in Ukraine are graduating from a performing arts school in Philadelphia
As they plan their futures, they also reflect on the loved ones they left behind
'I never could possibly imagine that I would be in America and graduating school here," a student saidA group of teens who fled the war in Ukraine are celebrating their graduation in Philadelphia, even as they miss the family and pets they were forced to leave behind.
'I never could possibly imagine that I would be in America and graduating school here,' Oleksandr Melenchuk, an 18-year-old who moved to the United States in 2023, but continued taking classes at his previous school in Khmelnytskyi, told NPR and PBS affiliate WHYY. 'It was in my dreams just to come to America, but finishing school here and knowing English and graduating, that's really fun.'
Melenchuk is one of seven students from Ukraine who will graduate from Philadelphia Performing Arts, along with about 150 other students, this spring, WHYY reported. The campus is one of three in Philadelphia run by String Theory, a nonprofit education organization, which has accepted 88 Ukrainian students since Russia invaded the smaller country in February 2022, according to the outlet.
The school did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
'I knew like zero English, and teachers helped me a lot to learn it,' 18-year-old Olesia Skorets, who fled Ukraine in 2022, told KYW Newsradio. 'Ukraine is more home for me, but America is home too.'
In February 2023, a year after about 60 Ukrainian students had arrived on campus, Daniel Betekhtin, an English as a second language teacher, told KYW that staffers realized the new arrivals would need extra help. "They, I think, were so moved by the events that we saw starting last February that everyone realized it's like, now is the time for all of us to step up to the plate,' he said at the time.
Counselor Susan Thomas admires the focus and dedication of the Ukrainian students, she told WHYY.
'They did have trauma in their background. Many teenagers have trauma, whether you grew up in Ukraine or the United States,' she told the outlet. 'We work with mental wellness. We moved forward and got them into a plan step by step.'
Skorets, who plans on becoming a dermatologist, is set to attend Holy Family University in the fall. But she doesn't know when she'll return home, according to KYW.
Her classmate, 17-year-old Sofiya Ionina, will also attend the same university to study graphic design, but is worried about her grandmother.
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'I called my grandmother a couple of days before, because some bombs were just next to her. Like, it's two houses away from her,' Ionina told the outlet. 'Of course, I cry sometimes when I think about this. Or, just, I'm very worried about her.'
She hopes to see her grandmother and the cat she left behind this summer, but also wants to stay in the U.S., according to the report.
Mykola Peredruk, 18, arrived with his mother and sister. His father was injured defending Ukraine. 'Of course it makes me feel bad,' Peredruk told KYW. 'My dad is a soldier. He used to be in the war, but then he got a lot of traumas, and he's a veteran right now.'
He will attend Penn State Abington in the fall, while Melenchuk will go to the Community College of Philadelphia to learn about video production.
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