Viktoria Honcharuk "Tori" is a medic in the "Hospitallers" medical battalion.
Speaking about life before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she says: "I was living the life of my dreams."
At 15, Viktoria moved to the U.S., initially through a grant program for high school studies, and later with a grant to study at an American university.
After completing her studies, she worked as an investment analyst on Wall Street at an investment bank.
Her dream job in the heart of Manhattan, at 20, she was meeting with CEOs of companies she admired. Many friends, opportunities, and world travel—according to Viktoria, she achieved all of this abroad.
"Tori" was planning a career in investment banking, and specifically, she wanted to establish a venture investment company in Ukraine.
"I saw that Ukrainian businesses were suffering from a lack of investment, how hard it was to obtain funding in Ukraine, with many companies forced to go to America to get venture capital," she said.
However, she returned to Ukraine for different reasons and earlier than planned—due to Russia’s full-scale invasion.
"For me, everything just felt like a fog. I really wanted to return right away and be with my parents. My father joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine, my mother joined the Territorial Defense, and my sister also enlisted in the army during the first days. It was very hard for me."
When asked how her parents reacted to her decision to return, she says:
"My parents were against it, my sister understood, and my non-Ukrainian friends didn’t understand. My Ukrainian friends also had questions."
"This was a clear desire and understanding that I needed to be part of this fight and be here—it outweighed everything."
"Tori" shared that after returning to Ukraine, she immediately enrolled in tactical medicine courses. Her goal was to join the "Hospitallers."
"I completed training with the 'Hospitallers,' and the next day I went to the front line. I worked in the Zaporizhzhia, Avdiivka, Bakhmut, Lyman, and Kharkiv directions."
The hardest thing, she says, is losing close friends.
"One of my closest friends, who died, was from an occupied territory. The greatest happiness for me would be to come to his liberated hometown and see how he lived."
When asked about her dreams, she replies:
"I dream of living to the moment when I can dream again.
I was accepted into Harvard this year, but I’m not going. They accepted me once, and they’ll accept me again if they want. The same goes for my career. I went through this path once—I’ll go through it again if I want. Harvard can wait." Stay tuned for more news and support the hard work of our brave paramedics! #Hospitallers #Paramedics #UkraineParamedics #HospitallersUkraine #HospitallersUK #HelpHospitallers #Ukraine #SupportUkraine #HelpUkraine #StandWithUkraine #HelpUkraineNow
Comments