Mariia Hozha, or “Mary,” is the same as most Lake Forest High School kids, except she has recently had her world flipped upside down when her hometown in Ukraine became a war zone.

“She has gone through a difficult road to get here and has seen a lot of terrible things. Her city was bombed and is being bombed every day,” fellow Ukrainian student Veronika Matura said.

These attacks changed Hozha, who couldn’t just be a kid anymore.

“One year ago, I did not know what would be in two months. I could only help myself… Everything changed; I grew up,” said Hozha, who spoke little English before coming here.

Near her house in Ukraine, she says there is a huge crater from a bomb that just barely missed her home.

“I heard a lot of explosions. Explosions where all of this room [the Lake Forest High School library] would be into the earth into a huge, huge crater… I lost my grandfather, but it was not as hard as it was for somebody who had lost their parents,” said Hozha.

Even though her home wasn’t hit, the damage to her town was terrible and will take years to rebuild.

“It was a special place. It seems to me that for everybody, their home is a special place. Right now, I understand that I will never come back to the same city because a huge part of the city is destroyed,” said Hozha.

Ukraine was invaded by Russia in February of last year. While reliable data is hard to come by, the UN said that at least 8,000 Ukrainians civilians have been killed. More than 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers may have been killed.

School counselor Daniel Panfil said Mary’s world “has been turned upside down in the past year.”

“Despite the incredible challenges she and her family have faced as a result of the war, Mary shows up to LFHS each day with a smile on her face, eager to learn, and always focused on accomplishing her academic and life goal,” said school counselor Daniel Panfil.

To get to America, Hozha went by bus from her hometown near the Russian border through all of Ukraine. Once she made it to Bulgaria, she met with four of her friends. The four of them then drove to Spain with all their belongings. Then she flew from Spain to Portugal, had a 17-hour layover in the airport, and finally flew to the United States.

“I was super tired from how hot it was in Spain. Me and my friend found a place in the airport, and we slept on the floor for all of the 17 hours,” said Hozha.

Aside from the difficult journey to America, Hozha had to now adapt to living in an entirely new place completely across the world. 

Every aspect of her life has been completely flipped upside down, from her having to move across the world to changing what she does in her free time. 

“(When I had) a little bit more free time and also had a free space to be just with myself, I enjoyed cooking. I made a lot of different cakes and desserts using professional confectioners’ recipes and modifying some traditional ones,” said Hozha.

Instead of being able to spend her free time doing something she enjoys, like baking, she now spends the majority of her free time calling family members and friends who are in Ukraine or have fled to different countries. 

“It became much more important to me to be in touch because of the understanding that life is not predictable. I still enjoy cooking, but I’m doing it not really often,”  Hozha said.