Karina Bilokon: One Ukrainian student’s story

In the EAIE’s recent 01 April 2022 Community Moment webcast, we had the opportunity to learn about how Ukrainian higher education institutions, their students and staff are being impacted by the Russian invasion at a general level. Today, we turn our attention to the specifics of how the war in Ukraine is being experienced by one student, who happened to be studying abroad when it all began.

Karina Bilokon is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business in the Netherlands and is working to help Ukraine from afar by trying to make people in her host country and in Europe more broadly aware of what's happening in her country. One person can’t speak for an entire population, but Karina’s thoughtful, compassionate and optimistic voice offers an important perspective on how other young Ukrainians might be thinking about the future for themselves and their country.

About Karina Bilokon

Karina Bilokon is currently studying Business at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences. She is interested in fashion management and is also pursuing a parallel career as a model and actress. Since the war in Ukraine began, her life will never be the same. Every moment of free time is spent thinking about how she can help her home country and people.

Bilokon has been working hard to bring awareness of war by giving interviews to Dutch radio programmes, posting as much as possible across her social media accounts and contacting people that are still left in Ukraine. She is providing them with information about military operations around Ukraine and where to get help. Bilokon has now started to help refugees in the Netherlands. She has been meeting and welcoming them as they arrive, supporting with food and clothes, and providing emotional and mental support where possible. Her University helped her and other students build a fundraiser to collect money and materials for fleeing refugees and Ukrainians who are still in Ukraine, including the military.

Additional resources

For further insights into the topics touched on in this episode, the following resources may be of interest:

→ Supporting Ukraine: the EAIE’s next steps

→ Supporting international students in times of crisis and conflict

→ Standing in solidarity with Ukraine