Ukrainian exchange student shares story

Now, the 16 year old is sharing his story, and that of his country, with the Midland community with the goal to spread awareness and understanding about what is happening in Ukraine.

Pursuing a passion

Vasylyk, 16, came to the U.S. through Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX), a program by the U.S. Department of State. FLEX offers scholarships for students from Europe and Eurasia to spend an academic year in America; the acceptance rate is 2.3%, which rivals acceptance rates at Ivy League schools.

He began the program in September, first staying with a family in Bay City. In December, he transferred to Midland where he now lives with Kirk and Dawn Bortel. The Bortels have hosted exchange students in the past, but none as young as Vasylyk. The couple got to know Vasylyk and his family over the past three months, exchanging emails and eventually video calls.

One of Vasylyk’s favorite activities is cooking. He recently made borscht for his host family.

“He is just a wonderful young man,” Dawn said.

In Bay City, Vasylyk enrolled in a journalism class and developed a strong writing style. Encouraged by his teacher, he continued to pursue journalism after he transferred to Dow High School. Now he is considering it as a possible career path.

“I discovered this skill, that I could actually write something, and I could make an impact by writing,” Vasylyk said.

Cammie Hall, advisor to the Dow High’s student paper, Update, was impressed with the writing samples Vasylyk showed her when he first came to Midland. Although he started out shadowing senior newspaper staffers, Vasylyk quickly moved up to write independently as a staff writer.

“He definitely had a great writing style already that worked well,” Hall said. “He’s very good at participating in our brainstorming sessions; doing that deep research to find connections to students. He’s been a huge asset.”

Little did Vasylyk know that within a few weeks at his new school he would have a chance to share the story of a lifetime.

Bringing a global issue to the local level

On Feb. 24, Vasylyk received several messages from his friends and family. Confused, he texted his older brother, who is in Poland, to confirm the situation. It was true: Russia had invaded Ukraine. 

“Since we all had heard about all the military buildups, I wasn’t expecting (an invasion), but I knew that it could happen,” Vasylyk said.

Russian forces had amassed along the Ukrainian border since early 2021; by the end of the year, there were an estimated 150,000 troops, according to the Associated Press. On Feb. 24, Putin announced the start of a “special military operation” intended to demilitarize Ukraine and uproot alleged “neo-Nazi nationalists.”

Simultaneously, Russian military unleashed a series of air raids and missile strikes on Ukraine’s military facilities and key infrastructure.

Events escalated and within a couple days of the invasion, Vasylyk’s hometown was bombed.

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city with a population of 1.4 million, has been constantly shelled by Russian forces. In a March 16 Aljazeera article, a regional emergency service reported at least 500 people have been killed in Kharkiv since the invasion began. On March 15, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said that more than 600 buildings have been destroyed.

“It was kind of hard to see (pictures of) the downtown, the places where I would go for walks in the summer,” Vasylyk stated. “Just seeing them as if they jumped out of a history book was hard. They looked like nothing like they were.”

Vasylyk and the Bortels have kept in regular contact with Vasylyk’s family, keeping tabs on their situation. Vasylyk explained that his family remained in Kharkiv briefly, huddling in a shelter for a couple nights. Afterwards, they decided to move to western Ukraine along with a mass exodus.

“Usually that kind of trip would take one or two days at the most, including an overnight stop,” Vasylyk said. “It took them six days to get there (because of the crowds).” 

One of the most difficult aspects for Vasylyk is not knowing what the future will look like or where he will go when the exchange program ends this summer. While he takes comfort in knowing that his family is safe, some of Vasylyk’s friends are staying in Kharkiv.

“I’m worried about them,” Vasylyk stated.

While brainstorming topics to cover for the Update’s March 18 edition, Hall proposed localizing the conflict in Ukraine. Update Editor-in-Chief Katie Hagen, a senior, volunteered to write the story. Meanwhile, Vasylyk provided information and interview opportunities with himself and his parents.

“We just thought that we had a cool opportunity there that we didn’t want to pass up, having (Vlad) in our class,” Hagen said. “He was generous enough to have me interview him. Obviously, it’s a pretty sensitive topic, but it was a really cool experience.”

The prospect of writing about a global historic event was intimidating, as Hagen was more used to covering stories about school and local activities. She delved into the history leading up to the invasion – including interviewing one of the school’s history teachers, Brent Chambers – highlighting the Russian and Ukranian presidents as well as describing how events are affecting Vasylyk and his family.

Hagen, who has been involved in journalism class for three years – the past two on staff – explained that her horizons were broadened, and her perspective was changed by writing the story.

“I’ve never written a story of that magnitude before. I literally went in with no prior knowledge,” Hagen said. “It was a cool opportunity for me to learn about the situation and to be aware.”

Vlad finds his voice

In addition to contributing to Hagen’s article about Ukraine, Vasylyk has spoken to other classes about current events and what led up to the invasion. Vasylyk hopes to spread awareness and understanding of the situation by offering first-hand information. He explained that he is happy to answer questions, even if people feel uncomfortable asking them.

“It really switches the way you perceive those things,” Vasylyk stated. “I felt like this could potentially help the situation, by physically being present and spreading awareness.”

Vasylyk has also talked with members of the Bortels’ church, sharing his insight about the invasion.

“He has been willing to step out and help others really learn about what’s going on in Ukraine,” Dawn said.

“He’s been very positive in the sense of what is happening,” Hall said.

Vasylyk explained that the attack against Ukraine is not clear-cut, stating that many Russians don’t approve of Putin’s actions. There are also relatives on both sides of the conflict; Vasylyk himself is half-Russian and has relatives across the border.

“I want people to understand the basic concept of us as humans,” Vasylyk stated. “No matter how different we appear to be, we are so, so similar. Regardless of where we are from, what background we have, what language which we speak, people are people.”