Such are the days for Mark Polatajko, Ph.D., Kent State University’s senior vice president for finance and administration, whose family immigrated to Cleveland from Ukraine. His busy schedule allows him a bit of a mental break from the worry that comes from knowing your ancestral homeland 5,000 miles away is under constant attack.
“It really weighs on you,” he said. “It’s heavy, but we all have a job to do, and we have to kind of respect the duty that we have for the work we do.”
Those closest to Polatajko are accustomed to his easygoing, eternal optimism. He’s quick to offer positive energy and find the best of what each financial opportunity brings to Kent State.
Call it disarming charm from a man whose heart carries a heavy weight tied to each day’s news from half a world away.
“I guess if it’s really important, you find the time,” Polatajko said. “You try not to get distracted, do the best job that you can, but I must tell you, it is pretty heavy and difficult, that’s for sure.”
Coming to America
Both of Polatajko’s parents were displaced from Ukraine as refugees after World War II before eventually making their way to Northeast Ohio.
Polatajko’s father, Roman, was just 16 years old when the Nazis invaded his village in 1943. He was given a rifle and forced to fight on the front lines between the Nazis and Soviets for three days until being injured.
Roman spent the next five years in a displaced persons camp in Bavaria before receiving a visa to immigrate to the United States through Ellis Island in 1951.
His mother Eugenia’s family was forced to flee their farm when she was three years old as the Nazis occupied Ukraine. They sought refuge with relatives in Poland, where Eugenia grew up until visiting the U.S. in the mid-1960s. It was then in Cleveland’s historically Ukrainian neighborhood of Tremont that Mark’s parents met for the first time at a Ukrainian community dance.
“My parents were extremely fortunate and resilient, reminding my sister and me of that every day – that they left occupation and tyranny for their freedom and liberty,” Polatajko said. “That’s what the American dream really meant.”
Polatajko was born and raised fully immersed in Ukrainian culture and language and didn’t begin speaking English until age 3 or 4. To this day, Polatajko said he thinks in Ukrainian, and he and his family speak Ukrainian in their home.
Journey to the Homeland
Looking over a few dozen family photos, Polatajko shared memories of his first trip to Ukraine in 1978, a journey which offered a glimpse into the harsh realities his parents fled. While planned in advance, the trip was risky and was made knowing that a bit of luck would be needed.
“My mom had the courage to take me [to Ukraine] just because she vowed to my grandmother in writing that she would bring me there,” Polatajko recalled. “Whether my grandmother got that letter or not, I don’t know, because I remember letters coming from my grandmother that took months to be delivered. And what we realized when my father would open up the letters, the letters were all cut up. So, every single letter that was coming from Ukraine during the Soviet regime at that time was being read, cut up, censored, repackaged and mailed [to] us.”
To secretly visit his grandmother in her village, his mother had to smuggle the 11-year-old Polatajko out of the city to avoid detection from oppressive Soviet authorities.
“A chauffeur that my mother had basically paid under the table, arrived early in the morning, put me in the car, hid me and then drove this small little Fiat into the village,” Polatajko recalled. “That was about an hour away. I spent the morning with my grandmother and then they put me back in the car, covered me up and then brought me back home to the hotel.”
Those few hours were precious to Polatajko, who admits the experience forced him to grow up quickly, learning how much was truly at stake for his family across two extremely different continents.
“It’s just that courage when I talk about all these immigrants who fled tyranny to come to the United States for that one little semblance of liberty and that opportunity, and but how faith and family are so important.”
Despite the immense challenges, Polatajko remains inspired by the resilience and fighting spirit of the Ukrainian people as they defend their freedom and the independence that his parents’ generation sacrificed so much to obtain.
“My hope is that we’re victorious without giving up any land, and that we’ll continue to have the freedom we’ve enjoyed since 1991,” he said. “I know that in the end, we will win.”
The Campus Family
Polatajko said he finds genuine, unconditional support at Kent State as the Ukrainian community bands together during this difficult time.
He pointed to a student-led humanitarian aid effort, led by Kent State graduate student and family friend Lydia Lisowsky, that assembled medical supply kits for Ukrainian soldiers, as an example of the Kent State community making a difference. Another is the Wick Poetry Center’s “Dear Ukraine” global community poem, which was featured live on-stage at a concert of the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus at Severance Hall in June 2022, four months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“It’s opportunities like that where I find immense pride in being part of this institution,” Polatajko said.
The Unknowns
For Polatajko, there’s no end date on the calendar for a countdown to peace. No way of knowing the long-term impact of Russia’s aggression. No way of knowing what’s ahead for Ukraine’s future.
All there is is uncertainty.
In many ways, it’s that uncertainty that has always been there, going back to his parents’ journey to Cleveland and the lessons they learned along the way.
“My parents were extremely fortunate and resilient, reminding my sister and me of that every day that they left occupation, they left tyranny for their freedom and their liberty. That’s what the American dream really meant.
“I mean it’s the classic Cleveland Ukrainian immigrant story. People come from nothing, give up everything just for that American dream and that opportunity, and my sister and I and our family and friends are really the result of that.
“That courage that it took to basically drop everything and then basically roll the dice and leave penniless with what you have on your back and that grit, that hard work and really that focus on faith, family and work really kind of helped them be successful. And it’s that courage, that courage to be able to overcome the harshest circumstances.”
It is those unique life experiences that Polatajko and others bring to the Kent State community and that inspire the campus community to support one another through the toughest of life-changing moments.
“I absolutely appreciate the diversity and the inclusion of Kent State University,” Polatajko said. “Anytime something’s going on in any particular area, you’ve got groups of individuals that are huddling together, supporting each other, the dialogue and discourse that takes place. I mean, this is a wonderful place for that.”