It 麻豆精品 S檚 logical to ask this question to a UCF student on the verge of graduation: How do you plan to celebrate? Posing the question to Mia Willard, however, feels uncomfortable, even na茂ve. She candidly responds to questions very few people will ever have to answer, but 麻豆精品 S�How do you plan to celebrate? 麻豆精品 S� catches her by surprise.
麻豆精品 S淲hen I saw that question before our conversation, it was the first time I contemplated it, 麻豆精品 S� Willard says. She pauses for a moment, which is something she has rarely taken time to do since Russia began bombarding her Ukrainian homeland more than two years ago. 麻豆精品 S淵ou could say my educational journey has not been a traditional one. 麻豆精品 S�
Willard isn 麻豆精品 S檛 referring to a transfer or to taking online classes for four years 麻豆精品 S� she hasn 麻豆精品 S檛 thought much about those twists in her path toward a degree in international and global studies. She 麻豆精品 S檚 been trying to focus on classwork from some of the worst war-torn areas of Ukraine. The assignments, honestly, have been secondary to providing aid for people, narrowly surviving landmines and missiles, rescuing animals from the rooftops of homes underwater and recovering from the shock of finding the bodies of civilians in villages and small settlements.
Here comes another logical question: Why didn 麻豆精品 S檛 you leave Ukraine, especially since you have U.S. citizenship? She doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 need to think very hard about this one.
麻豆精品 S淚 have a high stress resistance, 麻豆精品 S� Willard says. 麻豆精品 S淚n some ways I feel more comfortable going into danger and fighting for what I believe in than trying to escape it. 麻豆精品 S�
Let 麻豆精品 S檚 back up for some much-needed context about this nontraditional educational journey. Midway through 11th grade in Ukraine, she moved to Florida to finish high school while living with an aunt she 麻豆精品 S檇 met only once.
麻豆精品 S淚 knew that earning a diploma in the United States would provide the best runway into college and the career I envisioned, 麻豆精品 S� Willard says.
She saw herself one day facing the challenges of international affairs, legal matters, and politics. For her freshman year of college, she attended American University in Washington D.C., the epicenter of all the topics that excited her, before personal reasons pulled her back home to Ukraine 麻豆精品 S� Kyiv, to be exact. There, she landed a job with a think tankand became involved in journalism and research.
麻豆精品 S淎t that point it made sense to stay in Ukraine and pursue a college degree online, 麻豆精品 S� Willard says. 麻豆精品 S淚 chose UCF because the university offered a broad online program that allowed me to continue working fulltime. 麻豆精品 S�
Threats from neighboring Russia had been hovering over Ukraine for centuries, first in attempts to abolish Ukrainian artists, thinkers, even the language. But Willard, like many people, did not think Russia would act on its 麻豆精品 S渋mperialistic ambitions 麻豆精品 S� and start a full-scale war, even as its military built up an ominous presence along Ukraine 麻豆精品 S檚 eastern border. In fact, she remembers nothing out of the ordinary in and around her office on February 23, 2022. After work, however, she was told an invasion was imminent. It would happen at 4 a.m.
As night quietly ticked toward morning, Willard poured herself a glass of wine and stayed awake by updating her news feeds every 30 seconds.
麻豆精品 S淣othing happened, 麻豆精品 S� she says, 麻豆精品 S渟o sometime after four o 麻豆精品 S檆lock, I tried to go to sleep. 麻豆精品 S�
At 4:57 a.m., a friend from Florida texted to ask if everything was OK. Willard sensed that everything was not OK. Three minutes later, she heard the first bombs falling on Kyiv. Her 15th floor apartment shook. The explosions grew louder and more frequent.
麻豆精品 S淓verything became a blur, 麻豆精品 S� Willard says. 麻豆精品 S淟ike most people, I 麻豆精品 S檝e read historic materials about wars and watched documentaries. But I never imagined waking up to a war outside my windows. 麻豆精品 S�
And yet she did not panic or flee on the morning of Feb. 24, 2022. Her first move was to try helping a friend who ran a morning news show, but she found out the bridges near her home were closed. Next, she contacted Ukraine 麻豆精品 S檚 Territorial Defense Force to sign up for duty and help protect Kyiv.
麻豆精品 S淭hey already had such an influx of volunteers that I was dismissed in about three seconds. 麻豆精品 S�
At some moment during the most surreal, incomprehensible day of her life, Willard sent an email to her UCF professors with the following request: 麻豆精品 S淐an I please have an extension on my assignments because of the full-scale war here? 麻豆精品 S� Then Willard went out to find water and to offer help to anyone who needed it. For the next week, whenever evening came, she sheltered in a basement with her sister and their mother.
麻豆精品 S淟eaving was not a choice we wanted to make, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淢y mother has no relatives or sponsors to take her in. She would not want to be a wandering refugee. But I 麻豆精品 S檇 also be lying if I said I wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 scared about Chechen forces closing in on Kyiv 麻豆精品 S� they 麻豆精品 S檙e known for brutality and rapes. 麻豆精品 S�
A friend from the U.S. would check on Willard every day.
麻豆精品 S淗is check-ins kept me sane, 麻豆精品 S� she says.
The blur that began the morning of Feb. 24, 2022, has never fully subsided for Ukrainians. In her work and volunteerism, Willard has seen things that cannot be described here, all from a war she and her countrymen did not choose. The power outages that have altered her sleep patterns and interrupted online classwork are inconsequential in the bigger picture that she wakes up to every day.
麻豆精品 S淥ur world has been altered, 麻豆精品 S� Willard says, 麻豆精品 S渂ut it does not stop. 麻豆精品 S�
As she finishes her degree from UCF while working full time, Willard is also weighing an offer to work at the U.S. embassy in Kyiv. This leads to another question often asked of new college graduates: 麻豆精品 S淗ave your experiences uniquely prepared you for your career? 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淕oing through any type of conflict would give applicants a benefit, that 麻豆精品 S檚 the pragmatic answer, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淏ut the real answer is, I have no idea. I 麻豆精品 S檓 still wondering when and where the next mortar might land when I 麻豆精品 S檓 by the frontlines with aid. 麻豆精品 S�
After answering these questions during a phone call at 11 p.m. in Kyiv, she will complete her last final exam for the class Emerging Space Powers.
麻豆精品 S淚n the midst of my life, I haven 麻豆精品 S檛 stopped to think of this as a major culmination. And honestly, I do not consider my story to be brave or heroic. It takes away from the actual heroes: Our military, energy workers and emergency personnel. I 麻豆精品 S檓 just doing my best, like everyone else. 麻豆精品 S�
Asked once more, perhaps encouraged this time, about celebrating graduation, Willard lets out a deep breath and a gentle laugh, and says, 麻豆精品 S淢aybe I 麻豆精品 S檒l sip the glass of red wine that I never had a chance to finish. 麻豆精品 S�
