The following is shared from Matthew Romero, COIC Employment Counselor:

Anna arrived in Central Oregon the way many Ukrainian refugees do—with credentials she couldn’t immediately prove, a career she wasn’t sure she could reclaim, and a kind of grief that doesn’t present itself cleanly. She left behind more than two decades of work as an English teacher and translator, having supported over 35 students who went on to university. She also left behind her city, her home, her family, and her professional identity.

We first connected about a year ago through a local Ukrainian advocacy organization supporting resettlement in Central Oregon. At the time, Anna was working at the front desk at a veterinary clinic—far removed from the classroom where she had built her career. Like many in her community, she carried significant trauma from the war. Over time, it had quietly convinced her that the professional path she once knew was no longer available. Her English was strong. Her résumé told a compelling story. But she did not believe that returning to teaching in the United States was possible.

Working with Anna was less about job placement and more about building trust, creating space, and helping her navigate a new culture and world of work. We met consistently. Early conversations weren’t really about employment—they were about understanding expectations that can feel unfamiliar or even uncomfortable. American norms around self-advocacy, interviewing, and workplace dynamics can be difficult to interpret, and missteps early on can close doors quickly. We worked through that together, translating not just language, but meaning and expectation.

We also rebuilt her résumé from the ground up. One of the more complex challenges was accessing and verifying her education. Her university in Ukraine had been destroyed during the war, making documentation difficult to obtain. With persistence, we worked through World Education Services to formally recognize her Bachelor’s in Philology along with her graduate-level coursework in psychology. Eventually, we were able to secure credential verification.

Once a foundation of trust was established, we began exploring whether an On-the-Job Training (OJT) opportunity in a school setting might be possible. Timing and environment mattered. Anna was still actively processing loss while adjusting to a new country and identity. The right workplace would need to offer more than a job—it would need to offer stability, mentorship, and patience.
I connected with Melissa, the director at Bend International School, and introduced Anna along with the opportunity to support her through an OJT. Over the following weeks, Melissa and Anna built a relationship. Together, we developed a training plan, and Anna began her position at the start of the school year. Before her first day, Melissa understood the full picture—where Anna had come from, what she had experienced, and what she would need to succeed. Not surface-level patience, but the kind that stays steady.

The early months were challenging. Adapting to a U.S. school system is significant under any circumstances. For Anna, it came alongside continued loss and the ongoing work of rebuilding her life. There were difficult days. There were setbacks. Melissa remained consistent, supportive, understanding and a source of stability through all of it.

The school enrolled several new students—children from Ukraine and Russia who had recently arrived, struggling with English and carrying many of the same fears Anna had experienced. When they realized their teaching assistant spoke their language and understood their experience, there was an immediate connection. Relief. Recognition. A sense of safety.

From there, her confidence grew. She became more comfortable, more present, and more engaged in her work. Her role expanded, and she began leading specialized support for students with high barriers and complex needs that closely aligns with her background and strengths. The school became, in her words, “my second home and the place where I truly felt welcome for the first time.”
After successfully completing her OJT, Anna continues to be mentored by Melissa and is now working toward her Oregon teaching credential. By next school year, the goal is for her to transition fully into the classroom as a certified teacher, completing a journey that began with a résumé she wasn’t sure she believed in, in a country she was still learning to trust.

She found her way back. And in doing so, she is helping others find theirs.