Alina Lysak made her way to Valley to sharpen her skills before heading to the university.
By: Sara Lemon, Staff Writer
In 2022, Russian bombs exploded near Alina Lysak’s hometown of Vinnytsia, Ukraine, forcing her and her family to run for their lives.
“I left Ukraine on February 27, 2022. There were loud explosions next to my hometown so my family decided to flee,” said Lysak.
The then-17-year-old and her family crossed the Polish border and would later arrive in Germany, while their American relatives worked to bring them safely to Los Angeles. Lysak remained committed to her education, to pursue a career and help her war-torn community.
“My old life was completely gone,” Lysak said.
She graduated from North Hollywood High School, taking extra classes in order to graduate on time. When looking at attending a university, Lysak found that she needed more preparation after high school to be competitive for college - which led her to Valley College in 2023.
“I realized community college was the correct option for me,” she said. “Going to Valley has changed my life for the better, and now I am starting my applications for transfer in 2025.”
Lysak met Valley’s Dream Resource Center coordinator Javier Carbajal-Ramos at orientation. Carbajal-Ramos said that the former high school valedictorian will be “an amazing business leader.”
The business major hopes to transfer to UCLA or Stanford to pursue a degree in business after she leaves her mark at Valley.
“I am still deciding on my exact major, but I love mathematics and I want to pursue it and I hope to utilize it a lot in my future major,” said Lysak.
In May she was elected as the 2024-2025 commissioner of student life.
“If I had to describe her in one word, it would be ‘bright’ — her energy, leadership, and talent for bringing people together stand out in everything she does,” said ASU President Georgi Almazyan. “She always goes the extra mile to create great experiences for everyone involved.”
Lysak also founded the Ukrainian Student Union and serves as its president. She hopes to bring Ukrainian culture to Valley and provide opportunities for students to learn more about her homeland.
“Everyone is welcome to join us,” said Lysak. “We had a successful on campus screening of the film ‘Mavka,” where everyone had fun and learned about our mythology.” She aims to share Ukrainian history with the campus through events, such as holding a rememberance day for “Holodomor,” a genocide that occurred in the 1930s in Ukraine.
“The dynamic of seeing Alina recognizing the need to support her fellow Ukraine students that require help with interpretation, and expanding into acting in the capacity to help others, is a wonderful role I have seen her take on admirably,” said Carbajal-Ramos.
Through the club, Lysak also plans to share the importance of her native Ukrainian language, noting how oppression throughout history has bolstered its complexity.
“After the war began, many people started to understand that our language is vital to our people to preserve our cultural identity,” said Lysak. “Russian media propaganda uses the story that Ukrainians do not have their own language to support their own political agenda. When you see me and I look fine on the outside, please know that inside I have PTSD from my war experience.”