YouLEAD 2023: Meet our Students from Kharkiv, Ukraine
YouLead 2023 has almost arrived!
During this international leadership and cultural exchange program’s five week tenure, Ukrainian and American youth participants will engage in intensive leadership training, build partnerships with community organizations, foster relationships with mentors and each other, and learn from Minnesota local governments, schools, and the Minnesota Ukrainian community.
Today, we’re introducing our 2023 YouLEAD participants from the Kharkiv region in Ukraine. In their own words, they’ll tell you a little bit about themselves, why they love Kharkiv, and what they’re most excited to experience with YouLEAD.
It’s hard to believe that our 2023 cohort will be arriving in the USA in just over two weeks!
So let’s get to know them a little. Introducing our 2023 YouLEAD students from Kharkiv…
Daryna Anufriiva
Kharkiv, Ukraine
My native city is Kharkiv. Due to the ongoing invasion of Russia in my country, I had to leave my home and travel to the west. While I have been living in Lviv, I have realized how much I love Kharkiv. I’ve noticed that I really miss the streets of Kharkiv, filled with flowers and trees, streets which shine with many artificial lights every evening. Every night I dream of going out to the city center, where I can eat delicious food and hang out with my friends.
By the time Russia invaded Ukraine, I had been attending classes in the Teens Academy in Kharkiv for 5 years already. After moving to Lviv, I continued my attendance online, and one sunny day in March 2022, I saw an advertisement for the YouLEAD program at the Teens Academy. Since I had always had a dream of going to the USA, I applied but unfortunately, I ran into problems with the papers and couldn’t participate. Since that moment I knew that if I had this opportunity again, I would grasp it no matter what. Then, almost a year later, I saw an advertisement for the YouLEAD program again. The same winter evening I filled in the form. Then I passed three stages of selection, which were really entertaining and challenging. I’m grateful to all the people who supported me during that time and helped me to achieve my goal–the participants and my coaches at the Teens Academy.
I'm an easygoing, kind person with a wide sphere of interests. I'm also a good listener, and a supportive and insightful person. I have been a professional ballroom dancer for 7 years, and now I'm learning to play volleyball. I like meeting new people, but at times I need some personal space to recharge my social batteries. I also strive to do my best in everything I do, and it gives me a purpose in life to improve myself and be happy (although sometimes I feel disappointed because there is nothing perfect in this world).
Diana Bykova
Kharkiv, Ukraine
Kharkiv is an incredible place with a large number of very beautiful places: a zoo with a huge number of animals that are in good condition, many parks with beautiful architecture, especially in the city center. There are positive, bright, and unconquered people who create a unique atmosphere of this city. Since this is a student city, there are many active, progressive, creative young people here. Teens Academy is a place where active and creative young people study. This is a place where teenagers reveal their individuality and get into the most fun environment of like-minded people, and coaches guide us in the right direction.
I’m 15 years old, and I'm from Kharkiv. I really love spending time with animals - especially ducks, cats, dogs, and rats. I also love spending time with children - their thoughts are amazing. I study at school well, I like Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings.
My favorite books are “To Kill a Mockingbird”, “The Queen of Nothing “, “The Silent Patient", “Jane Eyre", “Six of Crows” and “Stigmalion”. I like walking with my friends. I’m interested in Ukrainian legislation, studying the civil code, and the constitution of Ukraine.
Rostyslav Lysak
Kharkiv, Ukraine
I'm from Kharkiv. This is convenient, as all events, releases, or products first appear in big cities: Kyiv - Kharkiv - Odesa. Faster delivery, and the number of options in such cities is higher than all others. Kharkiv also has good infrastructure, a high number of all kinds of interesting places (family cafes/bakeries/etc.), local memes with our mayors, innovations, and beautiful aesthetics.
The Teens Academy helps teenagers develop skills. One day, at the end of one of the lessons, we were simply told that there was such an opportunity to participate in this program, and it was from the self-realization group that 3 people expressed a desire to participate, and one of them was me.
My soul belongs to music, hiking, and watchmaking, as well as gaming. I am open to communication and usually start the conversation first. I am also a dog lover. As soon as I heard about the YouLEAD program, I immediately knew that I would like to participate in it, because I liked the very concept that we would provide leadership skills among teenagers from Ukraine. I also like to travel in general, and I have already visited about ten countries. The USA was also in my plans, so thanks to the YouLEAD program I will be able to visit the States.
Milana Kozhykhova
Kharkiv, Ukraine
I am from Kharkiv, and I love my city for the way it combines coziness, special comfort, and the atmosphere of a big city. For every mood, you can find a wonderful place for rest, entertainment, or work. Besides, I adore my city for its people. Kharkiv people have their own special jokes, and a kind of homely vibe. You can laugh, but people from Kharkiv always, ALWAYS, somehow stand out from the crowd, LOL.
I got into YouLEAD thanks to Teens Academy - a truly magical organization for teenagers, which provides both useful knowledge in the field of psychology and the opportunity for socialization and self-development among peers. I just finished the first year of studying at Teens, and my curators have already helped me understand my potential, try myself in the competition, and even win.
Kateryna Ivanenko
Kharkiv, Ukraine
My name is Katya, I am 17 years old. I am a student at an IT college, in my second year in the city of Kharkiv. My family consists of four people–myself, my mom, dad and older brother. I also have a dog (dachshund) named Sonya, she is already 11 years old. I really like an active way of rest. I love to travel–I would even call it my hobby. Over the past six months, I have become very interested in psychology, and I am thinking about entering a university as a psychiatrist.
Marhartya Linnyk
Kharkiv, Ukraine
My hobbies are illustration, socionics, photography, traveling, listening to music, and healthy cooking. I'm a really multi-faceted person. From my very beginning I have been engaged in many types of activities - drawing, ballet, chess, piano, mathematics, etc… I’m interested in understanding people's motivations and finding a deep sense of things. So I enjoy watching “deep sense” movies, animes, etc. And I really like to inspire people and beautify things. I want to get new leadership experience, meet new people, and learn more about American society and culture.
Anya Kyselova
Kharkiv, Ukraine
I am Anya from Kharkiv, and I am 15 years old. I have been playing music since I was a child (I graduated from a music school), I like to sing and grow plants. I like to photograph the world around me. Sometimes I play computer games until late in the evening. Thanks to classes at Teens Academy, I became interested in psychology and became more confident, and open to everything new. Friends say that I am cheerful and will always support them in a difficult moment.
Olha Lynnyk
Kharkiv, Ukraine
Well, I'm 16 years old and I'm from Kharkiv. It's an insanely beautiful city, which I love very much. I love animals so much. I have two dogs and two cats. I am an active person. I always want to learn something new and dream to change the world for the better. Even now I am trying to create my own projects and meet more and more people. I like to communicate very much, so if I can't remember a word in English I will communicate in gestures. I am fun, creative, and strive for excellence. I run my own blog on instagram and also run instagram for my school. In normal life I, like all teenagers, like to eat delicious food and sleep. I love cocoa and waffles, but I don't like coffee. From time to time, I follow fashion and like to stand out from the crowd. And unfortunately I suffer from migraines. It's such a headache. For entertainment, I like to swim, to dance, and to go to parks and museums.
Vladislava Kirilenko
Kharkiv, Ukraine
I’ve got 3 siblings. I play the piano and a little on guitar, and I also sing a lot. New experiences and knowledge are really important for me. I have a lot of dreams and I love nature.
YouLEAD 2023 is an amazing opportunity for me as a leader. Also I love traveling. One of my dreams is to travel around the world.
Yaroslava Starusieva
Kharkiv, Ukraine
I'm someone who wants to turn the world around for the better. I am a huge lover of literature and I am very into reading–my favorite genres are classic and poetry. In addition, I write poems and am developing my own book. Music is part and parcel of my life as well. I play the guitar, ukulele, and adore neoclassical and rock music.
I think YouLEAD is an exciting experience to get to know new people and develop my leadership skills. Аfter that, I will have plenty of confidence to continue to implement planned projects in the future.
We’ll be continuing to introduce YouLEAD 2023 participants by region in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to meet more of these incredible young leaders-to-be!
About YouLEAD
The YouLEAD program has been building better leaders in Minnesota, USA, and Ukraine for over 10 years. The sister city relationship between Hopkins, MN, and Boryspil, was inspired by this work. Today, many of our YouLEAD alumni are currently leaders of grassroots organizations, NGOs, and other community organizations currently providing aid and fighting for a free, democratic, and peaceful Ukraine.
Learn more and donate here: https://www.globalsynergygroup.org/youth-leadership-exchange-youlead-2023
