Ukrainian exchange student working on attending college in United States
By Joseph Hennessy
Click here for updates on this story
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — A local Ukrainian exchange student continues updating her community about her situation of being separated from her family.
Olga spoke with KCTV5 in March about being set to return to Kyiv with her family in May. The war continues and she is now looking to stay longer in the states.
She had the scholarship to attend college in Ukraine, but she said she is now looking at colleges in Kansas City to continue her education. She said the cost of college could hold her back though.
“It’s really a hard topic to understand and hard topic to talk about. It is something that is happening in the 21st century, it shouldn’t be happening at all. There shouldn’t be any wars at this point,” she said.
Olga says she’s been granted an extension of her visa for 18 months.
“There’s still a lot of uncertainty about my stay here and what I will do with my future, but it is going good,” she said.
She continues giving presentations about her country like the one Sunday at Prospero’s Books Store on West 39th Street in Kansas City, Missouri.
She shares the story of their independence, popular foods, and tourist locations to the current war with Russia – now more than 100 days since the invasion.
“I absolutely can talk to my parents and friends, and they still support me on what I’m doing here, what I’m trying to do in the future here, but of course they want me to go back.”
She said her family is doing better than they were when in March, especially after the attacks on her hometown.
She wants people to show support despite the less and less activity she’s seen on social media. She hopes her presentation and talking more with the community about it could help rekindle people’s memories of when they first found out about the invasion.
“It’s really sad because it’s never ended and people are still dying, so I think more spread is needed and more help is needed.”
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
