There’s a vibe that comes with a little cafe in a big city. It emanates from the smell of sweet treats and freshly brewed coffee. It resonates in the soft music and the little “hello” nod from a friendly stranger. 

It’s among the things that Yuliia Levytska misses most about her hometown of Odesa, Ukraine. 

“Here, you have Starbucks, but it’s corny because everyone goes there,” Levytska said. “It’s so hard to find a good cafe with a great atmosphere that you can go to with your friends.”

Levytska moved to Philadelphia from Ukraine in 2022 about a week before the war started. In the weeks before her moving, her parents’ friends called daily. 

“They’d call and say, ‘We can feel the pressure and people are talking about the war coming,'” Levytska said. 

It was the middle of Levytska’s senior year of high school. Before she knew it, Levytska had two days to pack her belongings and fly with her 21-year-old brother to America. 

“I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to my friends,” she said. 

In America, life didn’t get easier. The family didn’t have much money. The pair settled with family friends in Philadelphia for the first three months. When that house became full with other Ukrainian refugees, Levytska and her brother lived in a local church’s home for missionaries until they could find suitable housing.

Levytska needed to finish high school, so she attended her Ukrainian high school virtually, often attending classes starting at 1:00 AM Philadelphia time and ending around 8:00 AM. 

After completing high school, Levytska tried to attend local community colleges. Many of them wanted her to attend extra classes before college, despite earning her high school diploma. When she’d reach out with questions, it would take weeks to receive a response. 

“At some point, I just gave up going to college,” Levytska said. “It was easier to work, try to save money and buy a car.”

Levytska began working at a Chipotle in Warminster, where after two years, she became the restaurant’s Closing Manager. She didn’t begin thinking about college until her parents, now in the United States, began taking English classes at Manor College. 

“They were coming here and said I should apply, but honestly, I had no hope,” Levytska said. “But then I applied online. I had people here that actually wanted to talk to me.”

Levytska attended a Shadow Day, where prospective students experience a day in the life of a current Manor College student. 

“I don’t know if it’s because there are fellow Ukranians at Manor, but once I went to Manor, I saw how similar it was to the culture in Ukraine,” she said. “I just felt comfortable right away. The college is like a little village. It’s quite small and everyone knows each other.”

In September, Levytska will work towards her associate’s degree in Pre-Nursing. 

“I want to help people,” Levytska said. “Being in the medical field is a chance to be in society, to help people and affect their lives.”

Levytska hopes that fellow new faces at Manor know her as the spontaneous friend ready for an adventure (and if they have any coffee shops to recommend, to pass them along). 

“If anyone would come up to me and say, ‘Hey, Julie, do you want to get a coffee or go to the beach,’ I would say, ‘Yeah, why not?'” Levytska said. “I’m that type of person. I want to be spontaneous and experience life.”

Learn more about how students find community, and stellar education, at Manor College.