Ukrainian exchange student reflects on 3 years and counting in Southern Illinois (2024)

OZARK — In September 2021, Mark Sharovarov didn’t even know if he would be selected by a host family. After working a year to earn the right to be a foreign exchange student, time was ticking on his chance to get to America.

Then, within 24 hours of finding out where he would be living, Sharovarov left his home country of Ukraine. He hasn’t been back since.

Initially, Sharovarov came to Johnson County, Illinois, to live with Don and Carol Stockdale for the 2021-22 school year. His placement was about as last-minute as it gets, as the Stockdales applied to become a host family on the day of the deadline.

“He got picked to come, but then you have to have a family that steps up and says, ‘we will take a student,’” Don Stockdale said. “It takes both ends. They have to be ready to come, and somebody has to be ready to accept.”

Since then, Sharovarov has continued to live with the Stockdales. Through his home country’s invasion, through graduating from Vienna High School, and through the beginning of his college journey at Murray State University.

The program Sharovarov worked through, Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX), narrows down thousands of applicants to just around 200 students through a competitive process, including essays, interviews and English tests to examine each candidate’s ability to handle the trip.

“You can’t really prepare for those,” Sharovarov said. “Either you fill into this program or you don’t.”

While Sharovarov was as ready as he could have been for America, nothing could have prepared him for a stay that is approaching the three-year mark.

Sharovarov’s hometown of Dnipro, Ukraine, is the fourth-largest city in the country, with around 1 million people. Meanwhile, the Stockdales’ hometown of Ozark has a population that can be counted in the hundreds.

“I think my first question is if you have public transportation,” Sharovarov joked. “I knew the States, they use cars a lot, but I did not know what it meant.”

To help assimilate with his American classmates, Sharovarov decided to join a sport. While Vienna did not offer boys’ soccer, a sport he had played for seven years, it did field a cross-country team, which he joined soon after starting school.

All went according to plan until February 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine forced Sharovarov to stay in the United States longer than planned. The U.S. Department of State granted him an additional year in America, which he chose to spend with the Stockdales again.

“I really enjoy the people here, and I enjoy the place,” Sharovarov said. “It has become my second home here.”

Sharovarov graduated as a salutatorian from Vienna in May 2023, with his mother Maryna able to visit and watch him speak at the ceremony. He is currently attending Murray State University, majoring in computer science, while living with the Stockdales during breaks.

With all of the ongoing uncertainty in his home country, Sharovarov looks at the positives when considering his accomplishments, opportunities, and most importantly, safety.

“His mom basically said, Mark is wanting to come home and to be with us and help us,” Stockdale said. “And she said, we are so glad he is not coming home, that he is safe with a family.”

Although still unable to return to Ukraine, Sharovarov considers America to be his second home, and is grateful for what he has been able to make of a difficult situation.

“The United States has the best universities in the world, so I’m getting world-class education,” Sharovarov said. “I’m living in the most advanced, financially and economically, country in the world. I’m safe here, most importantly.”