A qualified lawyer in Ukraine, Mariia escaped to the UK with only her laptop and her guitar, now she is retraining for a dream career in IT.

“I used to be a lawyer in Ukraine, but then the war started, and I was stuck in a blockade for three weeks,” explained Mariia. “The time without signal, electricity and water made me revaluate all principles and I promised myself that if I stayed alive, from now on I will do only the things I truly like. So, when I escaped and came to the UK, I knew it was my chance to make some changes.”

As she fled the country, Mariia realised that she had to grab the things most important to her and she arrived in the UK with only her laptop and her guitar. She knew that if she could find a job, she would be able to buy clothes and other things she needed and make a new life.

After a long traumatic journey from Kyiv, Mariia’s family along with their cat and dog managed to get to the border with the Czech Republic. They had trouble getting fuel as it was rationed and had to queue for 5 hours to get 15 litres; they had to navigate roads full of pot-holes from shelling and they saw many bombed-out buildings in the towns and villages they passed. The family were so relieved when they eventually saw a small farm on the border. As soon as she could, Mariia messaged her boyfriend in England to say she was safe.

“I can’t describe what I felt. A few days ago I was sure that we will never meet again, I wasn’t sure even if I’ll stay alive, non-stop missiles, planes above us, the “tanks earthquakes” then these bodies across the route, three days without sleep and just on some expired Snickers bars from the empty petrol station and now I am in the beautiful silent mountains with my parents and pets. Safe and finally had a warm food in ages. Going to see my boyfriend, going to live with him!”

In Kyiv, Mariia was working as a lawyer in the IT department of a large company and was planning to switch to a more technical role but was nervous about such a big career change and having to retrain. However, the unexpected war changed her plans, and she seized the opportunity to start again. Luckily as soon as her boyfriend heard about the situation in Ukraine, he immediately applied for a visa for Mariia. 

“The visa was ready in a couple of weeks and till the end, I was sure that it was going to be some mistake and they will not let me in at the border. To visit the UK was one of my oldest and biggest dream. I always was in love with the culture, nature and history of England, since an early age I was obsessed with Gaelic and Celtic traditions, but I could have never imagined that exactly these lands will give me a second home when my first one has been violently taken away from me.”

Safely in the UK, and her boyfriend was working nights to make ends meet, Mariia started to take some IT and QA courses. She really enjoyed the subjects and managed to secure a remote IT role which helped with the finances.

“IT turns out to be my thing and I am really loving it,” said Mariia. “However, a three-month course is not enough to be a proper specialist as I desire to be. The more I learn, the more questions I have! So, to increase my knowledge, dig deeper, gain solid IT skills and to be able to find a job in the UK I knew I had to have a degree.”

My boyfriend who is studying with The Open University saw a news item about the Sanctuary scholarships and convinced me to apply.

“I felt so incredibly lucky and grateful when I heard I had been awarded a scholarship,” said Mariia. “Having a degree in IT will be of great benefit and essential when applying for the job roles I am interested in. A degree will increase my chances of working for a larger company or even possibly setting up my own business.

“Now I am a student, and I am very grateful for having a chance to change my life for the better in such bleak and surrealistic times.”

Being able to study around working is essential for Mariia. She knows that she needs to earn an income, and that her studying will eventually lead to a better job.

“Studying makes me feel that I am achieving something every day,” explained Maria. “This feeling encourages me to live and believe in better future for me and my family. It’s already helped me at work, as I have found it easier to communicate with my colleagues as they are English speaking developers. And studying made me more organised and gave me a reason stop scrolling social media every free minute, as now I always have more interesting things to explore.”

“My family are very proud of me. They all stayed and have been very scared for me leaving on my own,” said Mariia. “Now they are happy that I am safe and living with my boyfriend and found a way to improve myself. It makes me a mature person in their eyes. Now I worry about them.”

“Every time we are feel scared, we should make a step forward. And I can assure you that if you just have peace in the place you are now, you are already blessed. There are no things on this planet that you wouldn’t be able to learn from.”

And Mariia would like to say to the supporters of Sanctuary scholarships, “I wish to tell you the biggest THANK YOU for the opportunity I’ve been awarded. If someone told me one year ago that it’s possible to study degree in the UK, online and without being a billionaire, I would never have believed them. Thank you for making this possible for me and giving me something positive in my life.”