Ania Martynuk was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 2006. A daughter of Ukrainian immigrants, Ania recounted her young life experience, especially navigating her dual identity as a Ukrainian and American living in Florida. She remembered her visit to Ukraine when she was ten years old. She recalled her childhood growing up in Palm Coast, Florida, all through her UCF collegiate experience (at the time of the recording). Ania’s mom, Roksolana Cisyk (part of the FHS Oral History Project collection), serves as one of the central members for the Ukrainian Project Incorporation—the same organization that created and hosted the Annual Ukrainian Festival in Orlando (where the oral history took place). Ania described her observations of the four-year festival and its cultural significance. She also expressed her thoughts about the Russo-Ukrainian War, the state of Florida, and the US (c. 2025), and their futures.

Vasyl Boichook was born in Ukraine in 1966. Vasyl recounted his adolescent experience in the former Soviet Union throughout the 1980s, particularly as the empire opened and eroded. He explained his inspiration for studying artistic woodworking and how he developed his versatility in a school he attended in Ukraine. In December 1991, Vasyl emigrated to the United States, approximately a few days after Ukrainians ratified their independence. He emphasized how his decision to leave his home country stemmed from a larger desire to fulfill his artistic and individual potential. In 1993, he moved to Florida after spending two years in New York working different jobs, acclimating to life in a different world. In Florida, Vasyl worked in the field he specialized in—woodworking—and created his own business once he understood certain entrepreneurial practices from his first cabinet-making job in the state. In 2021, Vasyl founded the Ukrainian Project Incorporation and extensively discussed its inspiration, significance, and evolution over the past four years. He shared his thoughts about the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War and how his organization and the Annual Festival he hosts have responded to the conflict. Lastly, Vasyl described his broader observations living in Central Florida for the past three decades.