Ukrainian SEMO grad faces uncertainty at home

Graduation from any school is a time of celebration, but it can also be a time of uncertainty. Both are true for Tetiana Dronova, who graduated Saturday, May 13, from Southeast Missouri State University.

Dronova celebrated the completion of her master's degree in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) and, while she has very definite plans for her future, she acknowledged uncertainty when it comes to returning home to see her family and the future of her country.

Dronova came to Cape Girardeau in 2021 from central Ukraine, and when Russia invaded in February 2022, she said she was very worried for her family. Her family still lives in Vinnytsia, where she grew up, which, like Cape Girardeau, is also a river city and home to a university. Dronova said even though her family has not been physically harmed, Vinnytsia has not been untouched by the war.

"My city was attacked last summer in July," Dronova said. "They attacked the main square in the city center next to the university where I got my bachelor's degree. For four years, I was walking in that place every single day, and then the news that they attacked the hospital and an office building. A lot of people died."

Dronova said her plans are to get her Ph.D. in linguistics from a university in Austria. She will stay with an aunt who lives there and hopes to be able to travel home to Ukraine before classes start in the fall. She said transportation to Ukraine is "tricky" because there are no airlines flying into the country at this time. She said she will need to go by bus or train, whichever seems best when it comes time to buy a ticket.

The biggest uncertainty Dronova said she will face is how her family has changed over the last two years since she last saw them. She said she has spoken to them on the phone and video chat almost daily, but finally seeing them in person will be "interesting."

"I have a younger brother, he's going to turn 16 soon," Dronova said. "When I was leaving, he was a little bit shorter than me, and he was so young, like a child. Now, I'm pretty sure he's much taller than me. He turned into a young man."

Dronova said when she first heard the news about the war, she called and texted her family immediately, but their only response was, "We are fine."

She said when she was able to have more detailed conversations, she learned what life was like for them. She said her mother is a teacher, but her school did not have a shelter, so they tried to hold classes online. However because of power plants being damaged in the fighting, this was sporadic. She said her father, a mechanic and electrician, stopped working and participated in the protection of the city.

Dronova said that during the first few months of the war, she felt like she was in two different places, that her body was here in Cape Girardeau, but her mind was in Ukraine with her family. She said even though she sees what is happening on the news, it's hard for her to believe "things in Ukraine are the way they are," and that "it still does not feel completely real."

Dronova said, eventually, her university studies kept her so busy she didn't have time to "overthink" and worry about the war in Ukraine. She said, even though the war has been going for more than a year, her family and city have been able to return to a somewhat normal life. Her mother is back to holding in-person classes at her school and her father is back at work. However, she said she is still worried.

"I can't say that they are safe, because there is no such notion as being safe right now," Dronova said. "Recently, another town was attacked that is really close to my city. So, you never know what's going to happen, even in a couple of minutes."

Dronova said she doesn't know how she will feel when she finally sees her city and family again.

"I feel like a lot of people in Ukraine (they've gotten) used to the way it is," Dronova said. "I feel that this is something that is waiting for me because I lived it in my own way. Because I was far away, I don't know how it will be once I get there."