From Quiet Beginnings to Campus Leader: A Manor College Student’s Path Toward Personal Growth
Sofiia Ogerchuk (Lviv, Ukraine) is studying for her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at Manor College.
A bellowing siren from a nearby fire department interjects itself through the conversation Sofiia Ogerchuk is having. The low, slow rrrrnnnnnn comes isn’t particularly loud, but it draws Ogerchuk’s attention anyway.
“I can’t get used to it,” Ogerchuk said. “The first second, your mind races, but then your logic comes in.”
The rumors of war began months before Russian tanks rolled across the Ukrainian border. Ogerchuk was a 16-year-old high school student when she saw TikToks saying Russian President Vladamir Putin wanted to start a war with Ukraine. She sent it to friends, but they laughed at it all.
“That won’t happen. It’s the 21st century,” became the resounding theme.
That January, Ogerchuk’s school began air raid drills, where, much like a fire drill, students learned how to head to the school’s basement quickly. A friend’s school learned how to put on gas masks.
On the morning of February 24, 2022, Ogerchuk woke up for a normal school day. She had a chemistry test lined up for that afternoon. As she got together, she heard her parents’ voices in the next room. The anxiety was palpable. Something wasn’t right. She scrolled through her phone. School was cancelled. She opened Instagram and saw Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speech about the war starting.
That afternoon is when she heard the first air raid siren. Her family hid in the kitchen – the only room protected by multiple walls with no windows. Sofiia held her cat, Leo, and wrapped up in a blanket. They listened to the radio for further instructions.
“You didn’t know what was coming,” Ogerchuk said.
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People don’t understand how culturally different Ukraine and the United States are until you spend time in both. It’s found in small, unexpected ways, like the way Americans say, “How are ya,” to strangers but don’t expect an answer in return.
Ogerchuk struggled with these adjustments since she moved in with her aunt in Huntingdon Valley three months after the war started. That and the air raid sirens. The first time she heard them in America, she rushed to her aunt, but her aunt told her it was a fire alarm. Ogerchuk went to her cousins, but they sat unbothered.
Ogerchuk came to the United States intending on a short visit. While here, she found that she missed being a student. She found two nearby colleges and chose Manor because it was founded by the Ukrainian Sisters of Saint Basil the Great.
“I came here once and you could feel how friendly the environment was,” Ogerchuk said. “It’s a place where I’ve never been scared to approach anyone because they make me feel so comfortable.”
Despite the friendliness, Ogerchuk wasn’t sure how she’d fit in. She adjusted to learning in America and English as the main language. Even Canvas, the education platform meant for online learning, didn’t exist in Ukraine.
A few months into her first semester, Ogerchuk saw a flyer for the Music Club at Manor. Ogerchuk played the drums in Ukraine and at the club’s first meeting, became friends with Carlos Rendon ‘24 and William Anderson.
That year, she joined Music Club, Dance Club and the Mental Health Awareness Club. She’s since become a Presidential Ambassador and a member of Phi Theta Kappa.
“When I started talking to people, the other students made me feel included,” Ogerchuk said. “I really appreciate the support of the students here. They’ve shown a genuine interest in my culture, asking questions and wanting to know more.”
When a missile clipped an apartment building two city blocks from where Ogerchuk’s family lives in Ukraine, Manor students were among the first to reach out.
“They’ve been incredibly kind, checking in on me, asking if everything is okay with my family in Ukraine,” Ogerchuk said. “It means a lot to feel that level of care and support in this community.
In her two years at Manor College, Ogerchuk transitioned from a shy student to a leader willing to introduce herself to others. As a Presidential Ambassador, she gives tours to prospective students. The Washington Post featured her among other Ukrainian students on the third anniversary of the war.
“Coming over here — new language, new country, new everything — you can understand how she’d be reserved and apprehensive,” said Jennifer Buechel, Director of Psychology programs at Manor College, who taught Ogerchuk in multiple classes. “But two years later, she’s just blooming. To talk with her now, you see her sense of humor, her personality, her confidence in herself and in the language. It’s all coming out now.”
Ogerchuk’s kindness comes out organically. In September, Ogerchuk read a Manor College story about Benjamin Kopyn, a Ukrainian immigrant entering his first year at Manor College. Ogerchuk found him in the library one day.
“Aren’t you Ukrainian?” she asked. When Kopyn replied yes, Ogerchuk switched to her native language and the two became fast friends.
“It was unexpected,” Kopyn said. “It’s always good to hear your own language. Sofiia is so friendly and helpful. She is down to do all the activities she can at Manor and she always is bringing people along with her.”
That kindness extends to her friends in Ukraine, who often came to Ogerchuk as a safe haven.
“One of them actually told me, ‘You’d make a great therapist,’” Ogerchuk said. “It makes me feel good that people feel safe opening up to me and that they see something in me that can help others.”
Ogerchuk hopes to do just that. She is studying for her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, intending to become a psychiatrist.
She thinks about Ukraine often. In her grandmother’s village, a mountain overlooks sunny fields. It’s where Ogerchuk and a friend would bring food and a small speaker to listen to music and have a picnic.
She thinks about the country’s people – including her uncle on the front lines – and the strength and resilience they’ve shown. Ogerchuk is intent on returning after graduation.
“Ukraine is my motherland,” Ogerchuk said. “It’s my childhood. I only have warm memories about it. When I finish studying, I want to go back and help people who struggle because of the war.”
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