Grad says helping her ‘hobby’
Valley Christian’s Veronika Dragomir most enjoys serving, whether in the school cafeteria or doing chores for her relatives.
“I usually go help people – that’s my hobby, I guess,” Dragomir said describing her interests. “Since seventh-grade, I started serving food in the cafeteria to other students.” She volunteered in the cafeteria during her three years at Valley Christian School.
“It’s like you’re doing something to benefit others,” she said. “That’s a blessing. I go to my aunt’s house and help her clean and baby-sit. We go to my grandmother’s house, and people will talk and I’ll be doing the dishes. I’d rather help than just stay put.”
Dragomir came to Spokane at age 10 with her family, arriving from a small village in Ukraine. Now speaking in very clear English, she remembers her first days at Holmes Elementary School when there was only support for Russian-speaking students. Dragomir spoke Moldavian.
“It was like a new world,” Dragomir, 18, recalled. “I didn’t speak a word of English. I remember crying in the fifth grade for a week.
“The teachers kept using pictures to help me understand.”
Schools in Spokane had an influx of Russian students during 2000 when Dragomir arrived, she said, and while a Russian interpreter was at the school, Dragomir wasn’t able to communicate with that person.
Dragomir did better by sixth grade, however, as she realized similarities between Moldavian and English. She spent sixth grade at Roosevelt, middle school at Sacajawea, and her freshman year at Lewis and Clark before transferring to Valley Christian.
“It’s interesting. English is very much like Moldavian. The alphabet is basically the same. There are similar sounding words.”
Dragomir explained that many languages including Russian are spoken in her native country, and had she stayed, she would have learned Ukrainian. Ironically, Dragomir did come to understand Russian here. She took eight years of Russian classes through the Slavic Baptist Church in Spokane to understand that congregation’s language.
“We didn’t have a Moldavian church to go to here in Spokane. We did that so we could understand them in a Russian Church, so I learned Russian and English.”
Dragomir now attends Slavic Baptist and a Moldavian Church that opened years later, as well as youth group.
Dragomir has five brothers and one sister, including two older siblings and four at VCS. They originally came to Spokane because her parents struggled in Ukraine to support their large family.
“My parents had to travel for days to sell tomatoes and cucumbers from our greenhouses. My mom’s cousin was here. My mom said, ‘We’re going to America.’ I hadn’t heard of it. I was excited.”
When asked what she likes about being in America, Dragomir cited freedom.
“You have free will and you have more freedom. It’s easier to support your family and get jobs.”
As a freshman, she received a Chase Youth Award as part of a student group doing community service. At Valley Christian, she most enjoyed math, science and Bible classes. She also took choir for many years, worked as a teacher’s assistant and served as a small group leader among students gathering for support and prayer.
“At this school, what I like is we’re really close. It’s a small school and we know about each others’ lives. We love each other and care.”
This summer, she plans to go on a missionary trip to Moldavia to volunteer at a camp for 200 youths. Beyond graduation, she plans to attend Spokane Community College to study nursing or pharmacy work – two more options that give her chances to serve.