Occupation: Journalist

Country of Birth: Ukraine (Melitopol)

Current: Apple Valley, MN

“The taxi driver said, “It’s okay. I want to bless you,” and drove us to the Mexicali border, where we passed out in a stranger’s car.”

Adel Kuchyk was born in 2001 and grew up in a Christian household that was deeply involved in her local Baptist Evangelical church. Music, community service, and youth programs shaped her early years and infused a lifelong commitment to serving others.

Her passion for storytelling emerged during an exchange year in Texas during high school, which inspired Adel to become a journalist and later to pursue journalism at a university in Kyiv. There, Adel balanced her academics online during the first year of COVID-19. During recovery from the pandemic, she volunteered and taught English, fueled by a vision to connect journalism with rebuilding her homeland. She planned her future meticulously, envisioning her career and her wedding by the Dnipro River in Ukraine.

In February 2022, the war in Ukraine upended Adel’s life. Escaping to Moldova with her fiancé, now husband, Michael, and later retrieving her younger brother from Melitopol, she navigated harrowing circumstances. Faith was her anchor. Her family’s journey took them through Poland, Lithuania, Mexico, and finally to the U.S., where they found refuge and support from a host family in Texas. 

Despite barriers and financial challenges, Adel and Michael worked tirelessly to rebuild their lives. Adel continued her journalism studies, transferring to Dordt University in Iowa, where she graduated while supporting her family and guiding them through the transition to life in America. Now settled in Minnesota, Adel works with a Jewish organization supporting refugees and Holocaust survivors. Grounded by her faith and passion for community, Adel actively participates in her local church. And, she’ll soon be welcoming a new family member of her own.