Olesia is an activist with the USF. She was born and raised in the village of Hrymailiv in the Ternopil region. During her school years, she was a member of the Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. In 2023, she enrolled at the Ukrainian Catholic University and moved to Lviv. She continues her studies in the “Sociology” program. Olesia coordinates volunteer events for first-year students at the university as part of the “Service” course. Since 2024, she has been a member of the “Motanka” student organization, holding the position of a researcher. She is engaged in promoting Ukrainian culture, particularly by handcrafting and popularizing traditional Ukrainian beadwork.

For the Ukrainian people, freedom has always been an integral part of their identity. It is not only the right to act but also the ability to shape oneself, even in the most challenging times. I am particularly struck by the words of Oksana Zabuzhko, who, reflecting on Lesya Ukrainka’s drama “The Forest Song”, emphasizes that the greatest torment for the protagonist, Mavka, was falling into the snare of “He Who Dwells in the Rock.” The rock symbolizes unfreedom—a state where the capacity for movement, creation, and choice is lost. It is not merely physical confinement but spiritual stagnation, where the will to live, dream, and strive vanishes, leaving only an empty shell.

Oksana Zabuzhko notes that “the greatest torment for a Ukrainian is the absence of freedom, just as for Mavka, it was ‘He Who Dwells in the Rock.’”