UW Oshkosh sophomore Vladyslav Plyaka, from Rivne, Ukraine, hosted an exhibition, “Ukrainian Student Stories: 3 Years of Russia’s War in Ukraine,” on Feb. 26 in Reeve Memorial Union. The event featured three video stories of Ukrainian college students, an exhibition “Unissued Diplomas” and displayed a photo exhibit honoring Plyaka’s friend.
Plyaka said that the number of people that attended the event to show their support for Ukraine was inspirational.
“They talked so many times to me, expressing their love for Ukraine, [and] expressing how sorry they feel for what’s going on in Ukraine,” Plyaka said. “Especially after seeing the turnout, it gives me more motivation to do more things, to work on more future events.”
Plyaka’s first video podcast told the story of his friend Kostiantyn Yuzviuk, who died at the age of 23 while serving as a drone operator in Ukraine’s military on the front lines. Yuzviuk began fighting for Ukraine as a teenage activist during the 2013 Revolution of Dignity, when protestors clashed with government forces after President Viktor Yanukovych chose closer ties to Russia instead of signing a political association with the European Union.
After Russia’s first invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Yuziuk continued working as a volunteer activist, fundraising money, collecting humanitarian aid and advocating for animal rights. In spring 2023, he joined the military to protect his country against Russia’s full-scale invasion. He died on July 18, 2024, from injuries sustained while serving with the 117th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Zaporizhzhia.
The second video podcast shared Plyaka’s personal story of his wartime experiences from Rivne. Plyaka, a double major in journalism and political science, said he distinctly remembers the day he woke up in his family home to find that his classes had been suspended indefinitely.
“I went downstairs and found my dad packing emergency supplies,” Plyaka said. “I asked him one simple question: ‘War?’ And he just said, ‘War.’ That’s when I knew everything had changed.”
The other part of the exhibit told the story of an 18-year-old Ukrainian student, Iryna Levada, a freshman at the UW-Eau Claire. Attendees had the opportunity to see the “Unissued Diplomas” exhibit, which honored 40 Ukrainian college students whose lives were taken by the Russian invasion. In addition, Yuzviuk’s photography was displayed, showing images of his life on the battlefield and outside. The exhibit was supported by Wisconsin Ukrainians, Inc., a nonprofit that provides humanitarian aid and medical supplies directly to paramedics in Ukraine.
Plyaka worked with the UWO Center for Civic and Community Engagement and its interns, who designed the video podcasts and photo exhibits, while the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership sponsored the event.
Mike Lueder, the director of the Center for Civic and Community Engagement, said that the exhibition was incredible.
“Vlad and Kostia [Yuzviuk] represent the truest forms of civic and community engagement,” Lueder said. “I hope UWO students and others who see their work and their sacrifices realize they too can make a difference on campus, in the community and beyond.”
Plyaka came to the U.S. on a student visa in August 2022, but he hasn’t been able to go back to Ukraine because there is no guarantee that he would be allowed to leave his home country and return to the U.S.
“It is so hard to be in a safe place and see how my friends and relatives and my nation are being killed by missile and drone attacks,” Plyaka, who wants to return to Ukraine to be an investigative journalist, said. “In 20 years, I want to be able to look my children in the eye and tell them that I did everything I could to ensure that they live in a peaceful and prosperous Ukraine.”
