Bogdan Guk is from Izmail, Ukraine. He is 15 years old and starting 10th grade at Lincoln Lutheran as a foreign exchange student this fall. Bogdan was brought here by his mother, older brother and sister-in-law. His father was unable to join the family because it is against the law for any man between the ages of 18-60 to leave Ukraine during the war. “He called us every day to check on how we were doing”, says Bogdan. “There is a possibility that the age will drop from 18 to 16, so I am grateful I am here now because if that happened before I left, it would have prevented me from coming here and experiencing Lincoln Lutheran.”
The Lincoln, Nebraska Connection
In 2012, Jim Schepers, a professor in the agronomy department at UNL, traveled to Izmail to consult with local farmers about soil and irrigation. There, he met Bogdan’s family and a friendship was formed. Bogdan was only 4 years old at the time. Jim helped Bogdan’s older brother attend UNL. Bogdan and his parents traveled here for his brother’s graduation 5 years ago when Bogdan was just 10 years old and felt comfortable in Lincoln. Jim and Bogdan’s family remained close over the years. As war loomed in the Ukraine, Jim agreed to help Bogdan come to Lincoln for a safer education experience.
Life in Ukraine
Bogdan’s hometown of Izmail is a port city, making it a Russian target. “Sirens go off regularly at home and at school,” says Bogdan. “I didn't sleep well because I didn’t feel safe, so I came to school tired. If the sirens went off during school, we had to go to the basement and stay there until it was announced all clear. We stayed until 5:30 pm one night because it was unsafe for mothers to pick up their children. Some teachers would try to conduct lessons online, but wifi didn’t work in the basement, so it was a struggle.” Just days after he arrived in Lincoln, Bogdan heard on the news that a port city just 20 miles from Izmail called Reni was bombed. His friends told him, “We could hear it and we were scared.”
A new start at Lincoln Lutheran
“I like this city,” says Bogdan. “Everyone is very friendly here and I feel so much safer and sleep so much better. However, I also feel alone now that my family has left. I was a popular boy in Izmail with lots of friends. I played basketball, volleyball, tennis and soccer. It’s hard to leave all of that, but I look forward to the new friends I will make at Lincoln Lutheran.”
Why Lincoln Lutheran?
“We read in the local newspaper how welcoming and helpful the Lincoln Lutheran community was for another Ukrainian student,” said Jim Schepers. “We think Lincoln Lutheran is the perfect school for Bogdan to connect and adapt to a new way of life in America.”