Michigan university allows students fleeing war to continue academic, athletic careers

Iryna Trystan, a student and member of the women’s tennis team at Northwood University, hasn’t seen her family in about three years.

Trystan, an international student from Ukraine, is homesick not just because of the isolation brought on by the pandemic but also the anxieties of war in her invaded homeland, where her parents and family remain.

Despite these challenges, Trystan, who graduated in May, is pursuing a master's degree in business administration at Northwood’s DeVos Graduate School of Management, free of charge, thanks to the generosity of the school and its donors. She is also a mentor to Yuliia Khmara and Kuzma Zubrii, two Ukrainian students attending Northwood to continue their academic careers while their country is at war.

More than 190 donors and the university, through its endowment, contributed to covering Trystan's expenses. With their support, she attends graduate school tuition-free, with room and board, health insurance, all of her meals, and more, covered. Leaders at Northwood

Trystan was on campus in the middle of her tennis season during the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and those in top positions at the university were concerned about her, said Justin Marshall, Northwood's chief development and engagement officer.

Northwood University President Kent MacDonald, Marshall and several trustees wanted to help in some way, Marshall said. So, with the approval of Trystan’s parents, Marshall set out to raise the money needed for her to continue her education, safe on Northwood’s campus in Midland.

For Trystan, this generosity means the world.

“I’m super thankful for Northwood and for President MacDonald,” Trystan said, who earned academic honors during all four of her undergraduate years. “It’s really special to experience this feeling especially when you are apart from your actual home, so it’s really nice and I’m just thankful to be here.”

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Trystan's tennis coach, Mike Rose, praised, as a major asset to our tennis program and university." “You will not find a player who supports each and every one of her teammates more than Ira," Rose said.

Trystan's teammate's are grateful to the university donors as well.

"Iryna is very hardworking and a great athlete. She is always there to help her teammates improve both on the tennis court and in the classroom," said Rafa Fulop, an international student from Greece. "

A unique perspective comes from Trystan's former roommate, ElizavetaVelichko, a teammate from Russia.

said.: “We were almost unseparated, especially after COVID hit, and I’ll miss spending time with her.”

Velichko also graduated from Northwood this year, but as a Russian student, faces a different, but similarly challenging, set of problems.

“For an international student, it is very difficult to not see your parents in person," Velichko said.  "And it doesn’t make it better when you hear people asking painful questions, such as ‘Why are you here?’ ‘What do you think about everything that’s happening?’‘Do you think what’s happening is right?’” id she wishes people would show more empathy and respect for families from Ukraine, Russia and other countries enduring turmoil. "

Velichko's words reveal an issue that Marshall and the Northwood administration also recognize - the struggles that Russian students face at a time when their country is acting in a way in which so many people disapprove.

“Our Russian students were dealing with a lot of emotions that ranged from anger to guilt to whatever it may be," Marshall said. "We had our counselors available to all of our students and even our Ukrainian alumni and our entire alumni community.”

Northwood has set up a scholarship called the Freedom Through the Aspire Fund, which is helping Trystan and other students from Ukraine. Marshall says this scholarship is based on Northwood’s belief in individual value, individual worth, and that freedom is an important aspect of life wherever you might call home.

It is through donations to this fund that Northwood was able to bring Khmara and Zubrii from Ukraine to study on their campus as first-year students.

As Trystan works toward her MBA and welcomes two of her Ukrainian compatriots to campus, she says she wantseveryone to know that everything you see on TV is actually happening."

It’s sad to see such a thing happening in the 21st century,” Trystan said. “we Ukrainians are so happy and so thankful that everyone is helping and supporting us in any way they can.”

If you are interested in contributing to Northwood University’s Freedom Through the Aspire Fund, visit: https://fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/IDEA

Michael Woch, a freshman at Georgetown University, was a 2022 Detroit Free Press Summer Apprentice.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Northwood University becomes safe haven for Ukrainian students