What started out as a simple 10 question interview turned out to be one of the most amazing and meaningful conversations I ever had. In every lifetime there is always that one person that impacts and inspires you through their stories and kindness, whether a parent, sibling, neighbor or even a professor. I personally had the blessing to have met such person on my first year as a college student, and two years later, finally sat down for a nice cup of tea and listen to her epic story. Meet Dr. Olena Saciuk, an English literature professor whom most say is the heart of this entire campus and a professor to all for over 40 years now. This sweet and sassy lady was born in July 13, 1940 on Krynicia, a border town between Ukraine and Poland during the Second World War.
It is a well-known fact that the war was one of the darkest moments in history and everyone who has lived through it can tell you of the horrors endured, especially if their country was horribly affected like Ukraine. When the Nazis invaded her hometown, Dr. Saciuk’s parents took this as an opportunity to escape the horrors surrounding them. Once the Nazis retreated and the Russians took over, they started killing every educated Ukrainian who went against the communists, and that meant that her father was in the list. Thankfully they escaped to Slovakia when she was three years old just in time before any lives were lost. In Slovakia, they and many other Ukrainians who’ve escaped took a train to Germany but the train was sadly halted by the Russians and so they had to get off in Czechoslovakia. In Germany at that time, the ones who were running from the Russians had to hide or they would had been taken to Siberia. Thankfully, the Americans aided her family and the other refugees and hid them in camps where they were fed and well taken care of. They waited and waited in the camps, not knowing what would happen next and since her father was a most wanted political criminal in Russia for helping Ukrainian refugees escape, he had to hide in the forest leaving his wife and daughters behind.
But they were very lucky because one night, her father visited his mother and told her to talk to a certain man about getting horses and a wagon from a nearby German farm with coordinates and everything handled because they would finally escape that very night before the Germans came. They ended up walking in the freezing snow to a farm with other refugees where they stayed for one night to later escape again to Germany the next night. During the day they would either hide in a forest or a ditch before they finally found the farm her father had organized for them to stay in. That same day, her father had finally found them and her family was reunited and safe once again. Eventually, her father was called to transfer more refugees to the city of Minuck, Germany, and be in charge of a school. That’s when he took the opportunity to take his family with him where they would hide in the school with other refugees where they were safe from the Nazis and Russians.
In 1945 the war was finally over and everyone rejoiced the fall of a dark era and the beginning of a new one. Saciuk stayed with her family in that school where she got an education until she was in the 5 th grade when her family could finally leave Germany and start a new life in Chicago, Illinois thanks to a friend of her father’s that provided them with a house and a job for her father. Saciuk stayed in Chicago for many years where she continued her education and graduated at the University of Illinois with a bachelor’s degree and masters in Spanish Literature and a PHD in Comparative Literature. She also got married to the love of her life, Bohdan Saciuk, former Dean of the San German campus of Inter American University for seven years.
In 1976 while living in Gainesville, Florida, a former student of her husband, spoke to them about a job offering as professors in San German and what started as a 2 year stay ended up being the best 40 plus years of her life. She has always said that she’s a part of the San German campus, it’s like her family, and no doubt because everyone here loves her! There is not one single faculty member or student who’s even whispered one single bad thing about this remarkable woman. Her sassy, bubbly and kind nature can make anyone’s day. When you’re down in the dumps and uncertain of what to do, she is always waiting with open arms and a warm cup of tea with lots of amazing stories to tell. She taught me to never be afraid of the unknown, to always face adversity with a smile and kind heart. Use your talents to inspire others and always remember to work hard for your dreams.