With one suitcase and two children to American IT: the story of the new life of Ukrainian Alexandra

Meet 35-year-old Ukrainian Alexandra Zatvornyuk. Mother of eight-year-old twins Mark and Kirill. Previously an economist and financier, currently an IT tester.

Photo from the personal archive of Alexandra Zatvornyuk

She had to leave her beloved and native Kakhovka because of the full-scale war in Ukraine. More than a year ago, a woman and her children found support, safety and a new life in the state of Virginia (USA).

About life before the ill-fated day for all of Ukraine, February 24, 2022, the woman talks with a tremor in her voice, the memories of the horror experienced are too painful.

“We had a wonderful life. She graduated from university, got married, gave birth to twins. They built a beautiful house and traveled a lot. In a word, they lived happily and never planned to move to another country. We wanted to live and be happy in Ukraine,” says Alexandra.

The day before the start of the full-scale invasion, Sasha had a strange premonition. Fear and uncertainty were flying in the air, all the news was pumping and trumpeting about an imminent war. Her husband took Alexandra from work, the last time she drove through the whole hydroelectric power station in Kakhovka (now destroyed by Russian terrorists), and woke up in the morning from explosions.

It’s hard for the girl to remember her experience: “When the explosions became more frequent, I became hysterical. It's very scary, scarier than in the movies. The children woke up, got scared and cried. Nobody knew what to do. We lowered the sun loungers and heater into the cellar. It was very damp and cold. Instead of sleeping soundly in their beds, the children spent the night in the basement. It was loud and fear enveloped us. On the same day, the Russian military entered our city through Chongar (a checkpoint across the administrative border of Ukraine with the temporarily occupied Crimea) and occupied us. Tanks arrived, shooting and panic began in the city. Shops, pharmacies - everything was empty. At first it was scary to leave, Russian terrorists shot at cars with people, began to establish their own rules, killed civilians, went from house to house, looking for Ukrainian soldiers, stealing children.”

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The husband insisted on the need to save the lives of children and his own, after a month and a half in the occupation. The turning point was a very strong nervous tic and fear of one of the twins.

“I decided for the sake of the children, there was no way out,” recalls Alexandra.

They put their whole happy life in one suitcase and went to look for a safer place to live. We drove to the nearest Nikolaev for three days, spent the night in the fields.

“The tanks are moving, and we are moving. It’s scary, I can’t describe how. There are white flags on the car and the words “children” so that they don’t shoot at us. The twins were silent the whole way, they were in shock. The Russian occupiers were told that we were going to a children's hospital. We drove in fear that we might be shot like those cars that were parked in the middle of the road. I had to listen to the terrorists and go through filtering. When, with half-hearted grief, we reached the first Ukrainian checkpoint and saw our military, we cried with happiness. The Armed Forces of Ukraine helped us get to Odessa, we stayed there for a week and a half, deciding where to go next,” shares Alexandra.

“I need you alive,” Sasha’s husband said goodbye, hugged his wife, kissed the children and sent them to Moldova. According to Ukrainian laws, a man could not leave with his family.

In Moldova, a woman with children was sent to a refugee camp.

“Honestly, I felt terrible there. Morally, I'm just at rock bottom. 250 people, all refugees, yes, were fed well and supported, but the conditions were, to put it mildly, so-so. I told the seven-year-old children what happened, that the Russian Federation is an aggressor country and attacked our home, so we need to temporarily leave for a safe place. The children know that there is war in Ukraine,” said Alexandra.

During her week in Moldova, Alexandra met volunteers who persuaded her to go with them to Turkey. And off they went. In Istanbul, the Ukrainians were received by a good family and helped with housing. Sasha began to think about where to find a job to support herself and her children. But she came across obstacles - firstly, she did not know the language, even English was at school level, and secondly, they lived in a traditional Turkish quarter, where there were only Muslims. To leave the house, the beautiful blonde Alexandra had to look for an escort. This situation did not suit her, and the search began for a new country to move to.

They thought about the United States, because relatives live there, but once Sasha had already received a refusal from the consulate when trying to apply for an American visa. We got a visa to Canada, bought tickets. They really hoped that her husband Igor, who remained in Ukraine, would be able to reunite with his family. But this did not happen. But something interesting happened. The United States opened a program for Ukrainians "U4U" (United for Ukraine). This is a migration program in the United States, which started with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Thanks to her, Ukrainians fleeing the war get the opportunity to legally reside in the United States.

On May 7, 2022, Sasha and two children with one suitcase landed in America.

“I was in deep shock; I didn’t understand what was happening. I did everything on adrenaline,” the girl recalls.

We came to live with my sister for the first time. In the state of Virginia. Children cried the first week, but then adapted quickly. They were very well received at the school where they completed their first grade.

Photo from the personal archive of Alexandra Zatvornyuk

In order not to go crazy, Alexandra started looking for work. I looked everywhere: in newspapers, on the street, on the Internet, but there was a problem - everywhere you need a good level of language and proof of a diploma. Without this, they suggested either packing boxes or going to work as a nanny. Sasha realized that with such work she would simply not have enough finances. She wanted to quickly start an independent life, rent a house, buy a car. This requires a different level of finance. Kind people suggested that Ukrainians in the U4U program can obtain a work permit. But first you need to brush up on your language and take courses to change your profession. Alexandra thought about IT.

On Facebook, the girl found a group Learnix Center IT Training School, but study there was paid. The girl decided to try her luck and wrote a message to the school, where she told her difficult story. It turned out that for all Ukrainians, studying in Learnix Center IT Training School free. The owners of the school are Ukrainians who have lived in the United States for a long time, are very supportive of their fellow citizens and help the Ukrainian army.

Sasha chose the direction of "manual tester" and the training began.

“We had online lessons for three hours every day. This helped me a lot - I’m studying, and the children are nearby, so I don’t have to worry. All the lessons were in English, and since I was not yet strong in it, I wrote out all the phrases, translated them, and learned them. It was very convenient that we, students, were given a recording of the lesson. This gave me the opportunity to review and re-listen to classes to begin to understand the profession. But I want to say a huge thank you to the owners of the school, Larry and Andrey, they literally helped me figure it out step by step, answered all my questions, and were very supportive when I doubted my abilities,” says Alexandra.

“I strongly advise all newly arrived Ukrainians, and in general everyone who is in the United States, to pay attention to Learnix center, because IT is the future. This will give a good prospect for future earnings. There are really excellent teachers here, the system is understandable even to those who barely speak English. Another big plus is that teachers help at all stages, including preparation for the interview. All teachers have direct experience in their profession; they were interviewed both as candidates and as employers. Knowing all the nuances from the inside, they help students correctly create a resume and job search strategy, and advise at all stages of the interview. These are courses specifically for retraining, and it’s just a godsend!” - Alexandra noted.

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“I worked hard for three months on the courses, then did an internship for another month, it’s something like simulating the work process. Learnix helped me write a CV and pass interviews. Everyone spelled it out for me. I passed the interview and found a job within 2 months. Since January 2023, I have been working as a tester for a very good company - Airbus in Washington DC. The salary is decent, we moved out of my sister’s place into our own apartment, I bought a car. All this is thanks to Larry and his school!” — Alexandra shares.

Now the woman is satisfied with her job, she plans to further develop in IT, because this is a huge and interesting niche.

"Thanks to the guys from Learnix I know how to create a great product and help people, clearly fulfilling the customer’s specifications,” says Sasha confidently.

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