Woman who escaped Ukraine-Russia war now studying at Fresno City College

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- This semester, Fresno City College welcomed its largest incoming class of international students.

Olivia Taiwo is one of them.

She says she's had her career path picked out for years.

"My dream was to study medicine since high school," Olivia said.

Originally from Nigeria, she graduated high school, tested well, and got into a program in Ukraine in 2019.

She studied there until the pandemic hit and then courses shifted online.

They remained online through 2021 and 2022 and then, the war between Ukraine and Russia broke out.

"We kept hearing the bombs and everything, so it was scary. That was frightening to a lot of people," Olivia said.

She had to navigate getting out of the country on her own.

She says there were days without shelter and without internet or cell phone service.

"Just experiencing that alone and just having my parents on the other side of the phone was hard too," Olivia said.

She eventually made it out and moved to Germany, then Poland.

But with classes still only online, she decided to see what other options were available to continue her education.

That's when she found Fresno City College's nursing program, applied and got in.

Director of International Students Daniel Tamayo says FCC has a robust International Student Program.

"We recognize as an institution that there's value to host international students here on campus so that our local students are exposed to a different perspective, a global perspective," Tamayo said.

Currently, there are more than 100 international students from more than 24 countries and five continents.

This spring, they had the largest incoming class with 28 new students.

Tamayo says FCC hosts a two-day orientation when students arrive to ensure they're set up for success with housing and enrollment.

"We want to ensure that when students arrive here, that they are successful academically, emotionally, socially."

Olivia says she's been enjoying her first time in California and has been adjusting to life here well.

"It's great here -- I've met people, learned about different things here and how things work here too," she said.

Olivia's story isn't the only one here at Fresno City.

There's also a French basketball player and a Brazilian soccer player, each coming with their own background and culture as they pursue higher education.

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