Illia Kholiavin is graduating in the Spring of 2025 with a degree in biochemistry.
Illia Kholiavin is no ordinary SEBS senior. He’s no ordinary transfer student, either. He came to Rutgers from Ukraine in 2023 after his hometown, located in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border, was ravaged by war. Kholiavin was a med school student back home, but his major, like so much in his life, changed suddenly and unexpectedly.
“I never imagined I would graduate from a U.S. college,” said a resilient Kholiavin, a few months away from a degree in an internationally ranked science program. “I chose biochemistry, and I really like it. I thought of it as something that merges science and medicine together. For example, I’m quite interested in oncology, which has a lot of common ties with biochemistry and internal medicine.”
In the grand scheme of things, the rigorous academic curriculum has been the easy part. After applying to over 200 universities, he finally came to Rutgers with his mother and grandmother, neither of whom speak English. Becoming their voice and advocate has been one of many new responsibilities for Kholiavin, in addition to navigating complex processes for admission and financial aid as a refugee.
“It was really tough, emotionally. I was really on edge, especially since you study for a lot of time, in a foreign language, you hear news about your home country,” said Kholiavin. “You need to provide for your mother and grandmother, advocate for them. There are transportation issues. It’s really tough. It was a long road, and I’m thankful to Rutgers. They made my life a lot easier.”
Kholiavin thanks his advisors and the deans at SEBS for supporting him through a difficult transition and unfamiliar American college experience.
“This passion to help people in need to pursue their education, give them an opportunity to work at the job they want, to help them enhance their abilities, this is what really surprised me at Rutgers,” said Kholiavin.
Staying in America
Kholiavin hopes to start work immediately after graduating and to eventually gain full citizenship. Med school, however, will have to wait.
“Because of my refugee status, it’s really tough to go directly to medicine,” said Kholiavin. “It’s much easier to go into a science field where you can get some experience.”
Tragedy has characterized much of Kholiavin’s life in the last two years but so has silver linings – professional opportunities and a renewed sense of belonging.
“I hope to stay here is because I basically have nowhere to go. My hometown was 90% destroyed. It’s plain ground, actually. This area is occupied so I won’t return to this area,” said Kholiavin. “Rutgers has become my home, so I really want to stay. I feel ties to this country and to the people, and to this university specifically.”
