As a child, little Olenka dreamed a lot and was never sure what she really wanted to become. The girl was torn between the desire to become an artist, designer, or translator. In the end she entered a pedagogical university and from the second year she worked as an English tutor in a local private language school. Olena held this position continuously for 10 years. In the first few months after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the school was closed so Olena conducted classes online. But due to constant alarms and shelling, it was difficult to deliver adequate training. So she made the most difficult decision in her life - to uproot to another country and start all over again, for herself and her family.

Olena recalls that when she came to the Czech Republic, she promised her parents she would get job according to her specialty. This turned out to be difficult. Yet, eventually, Olena managed to get a job in her profession, becoming an English teacher at a refugee centre. Over time, she began working for a Czech language school company as an online English teacher for Czechs.

She has subsequently had to choose between her favourite job and financial stability, so she began to look for other options. In a short period via a great number of different interviews, Olena found a stable job in a large company. Thanks to her fluent English, Olena was hired in the customer support department of the Louis Vuitton brand for the British market. But a few months in, she changed her job and joined the international organisation of the World Lutheran Federation. It is the largest global association of Lutheran churches with headquarters in Geneva.

Olena works in the humanitarian department engaging in aid, social work, protection of human rights and much more, for countries in crisis.

"I am a Ukraine Support Officer. This is mostly administrative and paper work, but I am very proud that I can even help my country from here," Olena says. When asked about future plans, Olena admits that there is no answer at the moment. "All my plans and dreams for the future disappeared in one day in February 2022. Now my ‘next’ is to live, work, support my family and country and, perhaps, one day, return to the profession that is so close to my heart," says Olena.