Exchange student Oksana Kovalenko bids farewell to Newton

Oksana Kovalenko has just completed one year as Ukrainian ambassador to the United States.  Not too shabby for a 16-year-old.

Oksana, who has been Newton’s sister city foreign exchange student from Smila, has had a busy, eye-opening year First, she completed her sophomore year at Newton High School, which will prepare her for her last year at Smila’s Lyceum, a special school for gifted and talented students.

In Newton, during the second semester, Oksana studied Drawing, French I, English, Biology and Psychology--her favorite.  She participated for a time on the girls’ swim team and was a Mat Maid during the NHS wrestling season.  What would she think about doing after graduation from Smila? Go on to university and major in something to do with international business. It makes sense, considering she speaks Ukrainian, Russian, English and French.

Thanks to her host families — Bob and Cindy Campbell for the first semester and Gary and Jane Johnson for the second, Oksana has had many opportunities to see Iowa and other parts of the United States, including Chicago, Minneapolis, New York City and Washington, D. C. In Central Iowa she visited the Iowa State Fair (where she tried a corn dog), Adventureland, and the Neal Smith Nature Preserve outside of Prairie City with John McNeer and this writer. 

Oksana said at a fairwell dinner hosted at Congregational United Church of Christ on Monday evening that she came to America and felt compelled to “try everything.”  She didn’t do too badly considering some of her extracurricular activities:  She studied dance at In-Motion with Amanda Heck once (and later twice) a week; took a pottery class and made a quilt with Jane Johnson; went bowling with Svitlana and Zach Miller; did scrapbooking with Carol Kramer; prepared a photo collage with Marvin Campbell; and learned to cut grass with a lawnmower at Curran and Jane Ann Cotton’s.  She enjoyed eating Chinese food at Panda Garden and watching American movies; her favorites are “Forrest Gump” and “P. S. I Love You.”  She attended a horse race; watched soccer; and learned horseback riding, to play tennis, and to ice skate.  Her two best friends she considers to be Luana Marega, a Rotary student from Marilia, Brazil staying in the home of Doug and Patty Thoma; and Lena Kytmanova, a Russian girl now living and studying in Newton.  (“Actually, I’M her best friend,” jokes Gary Johnson.)  “I feel like I’m growing all the time,” Oksana says.

On Thursday Oksana leaves for home, via Chicago, Amersterdam and Kyyiv.  Undoubtedly her parents Oleg (a math professor at a technical school in Smila) and Inna (Vice President of Oschadniy Bank in Smila), as well as her two grandmothers and her favorite cousin Maksym (a 21-year-old university student) will be at Boryspil Airport in Kyyiv to meet her.  Oksana looks forward to reuniting with her usual bunch of friends (Yana, Katya, Sergei, Lera and Sasha) to watch movies, go to dance clubs, walk in the parks and go shopping.  She promises, though, not to forget her American friends and experiences.

“OPEN is doing wonderful things for young people,” Oksana says. “I hope the organization will continue to help other Ukrainian students meet their dreams of coming to the United States.”