Ukrainian UT Dallas graduate makes a difference thousands of miles from home
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A new UT Dallas graduate has been making a difference thousands of miles away from his home country of Ukraine.
"There are two sources of stress; school and the situation in Ukraine. And now at least one of those sources will be gone," explained Illia Volkov.
He remembers February 24 vividly, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine started.
"I think the first four or five days, I was pretty much paralyzed," Volkov reflected.
He has family in eastern Ukraine in and around the city of Kharkiv. The city has been under attack for weeks. He shared a picture with us that depicted a destroyed building where his dad worked.
And as fighting intensified, his aunt made the decision to evacuate. It was just in time. "About two hours, a rocket fell into their house," Volkov told us.
He went on to say, "Good thing she's alive. Good thing they left when they did. Again, two hours later. Not even a day. Not even a week. After two hours."
In the days and weeks since the start of the invasion, Volkov found the determination to make a difference in North Texas. He has joined others in raising awareness about the situation in his home country by taking part in rallies.
"Me physically being in Ukraine right now would not make almost any impact on the war," said Volkov.
He continued by saying, "I'm able to show American people this is a pressing issue that will affect them as well, and they need to support and help Ukraine as much as they can."
Volkov said that after graduation he will start work at Texas Instruments while continuing to raise awareness about the war.
