Liza Yaryshkina: Ukrainian Student College Fund

Liza Yaryshkina, a high school student from Donetsk, Ukraine, needs your help to pursue her college dreams and secure her future.

Starting at 11 years old, she began her pursuit of coming to the U.S. as a student by doing extensive research on her own. At 15, this was realized when she was accepted into FLEX (Future Leaders Exchange Program), a highly competitive merit-based exchange program, in which she exceeded expectations. She joined our family in October 2021 as a part of this program. Liza is an extraordinary student with a deep regard for her studies. She is passionate and caring, having seamlessly fallen into our family dynamic. She has easily taken on the role of loving big sister to our two children. She mentors them and has given them an invaluable world perspective.

When war broke out in February 2022, as one would expect, Liza’s future and that of her family back home were thrown into uncertainty. However, Liza’s fortitude and dreams remained undeterred, and at 17 she will graduate from Waukee High School. Her original plan was to attend college in Kyiv, but that is not feasible. Her new vision is to continue her studies by attending college in the United States. Given her family’s displacement in another country and financial instability, Liza desperately needs funds to support her college aspirations. In the United States it is often typical to begin college savings in advance of attending, however in Ukraine, if one tests well into the university system, it is free. Also, with her student visa status, she is not allowed to work and save money on her own.

Liza has demonstrated deep compassion and humanity by helping her community back home during this perilous time. She led a successful effort selling t-shirts with RayGun to raise more than $10,000 for the Maternity Hospital that was badly damaged in the Kyiv bombings. She has also committed to serving over 300 hours of volunteer time in her short two years here in Iowa. Her dogged perseverance is admirable as she pursues new endeavors and sees them through to their end. As her American mom, I do not doubt that she will succeed in her college endeavors and make the world a better place. She is already a proven agent of change, both within this Iowa community as well as her home country of Ukraine.

Now, a few thoughts in her own words: …

Coming to America to share my culture and learn more about this diverse country and its nation has been my dream since 6th grade. I put in a lot of effort and developed my portfolio to come here and back in time I could not even imagine how far my journey would go.

This country has taught me how to be open and generous and showed me that change for the better is always possible. With all those unforgettable memories I've had this year, the amazing friends I've met at school and volunteering, I've also received unimaginable support from the American people when my country was under threat. Each word, hug, kiss, and smile means the world to me and shows how powerful and supportive your community is. Seeing what America is doing for Ukraine fills my heart with hope that there is still an endless amount of generosity in the world.

Unfortunately, my opportunity to go back, share that experience with Ukrainians and use my knowledge to make the world better was taken away. Retreating is not what I usually do, so I hope to continue my studies here in the U.S. because I believe that this is the best option to help me grow and keep moving forward through all the tragedy that is going on right now. With all my heart I want to say thank you to each of you who make this all seem possible for a teenage girl like me.