Yaroslava Azorska is one of more than a million Ukrainians who have come to Germany since Russia attacked their homeland. The 32-year-old has been a member of the Telekom family since August. An eventful year lies behind the Kiev-native.
Two days in 2022 changed Yaroslava Azorska's life forever. February 24 and March 6. On the 24th her world went haywire. Russia attacked their homeland - with terrible consequences for the approximately 44 million citizens of Ukraine. The single mother did not hesitate and decided to flee to Germany. "I didn't see any other way to protect my family. That was a departure into the unknown," Yaroslava explains in a trembling voice. You can tell how much she is still moved by the events.
She arrived in Leipzig on March 6 with her two children Misha (6) and Marko (1) and her sister Sophia and stepmother, Olena. “We had to take care of the kids first and I was the only woman in the whole family who can drive.” It was her first placement in Germany. Exactly one year has passed since then. Her brothers stayed behind in Kiev. She remains in close contact with them and says they are (still) doing well. "I think of them every day," says Yaroslava, with tears in her eyes.
From Leipzig via Aachen to Bonn
From Leipzig, on to Aachen. How do I feed my family? Where will I live? Where can I work? Those were the questions she asked herself. A roller coaster of emotions. But Yaroslava Azorska is not a woman who gives up easily. She is a confident and well-educated woman, has a bachelor's and master's degree in economics and a bachelor's degree in psychology. The 32-year-old worked in Ukraine for ten years for the Austrian Raiffeisen bank group.
Her qualifications and professional experience are in demand in Germany. She applied to a bank and to T-Systems, more precisely in the cloud sector, the AWS Powerhouse. Both applications were promising. A conversation with her boss, Helena Herselman, tipped the scales in favor of T-Systems. "She gave me the feeling that Telekom is the right employer for me." It is a stroke of luck that she chose the Telekom subsidiary: "Yaroslava is an enrichment for our team - both professionally and personally", explains Helena, who comes from South Africa.
Ukrainian onboarding
Yaroslava has been bringing her skills to the Magenta family since August. In the AWS Powerhouse she is responsible, among other things, for internal portfolio management, employee development and international coordination. In addition, she has further developed her coaching and moderation skills and successfully completed the Advanced Scrum Master training.
A compatriot Hanna Lukashova did the onboarding. "That made it much easier to get started," says Yaroslava. The integration into the multinational team went smoothly thanks to the great support from team members. “I like the culture at T-Systems. We implement topics together, but we can also take responsibility and make many decisions ourselves. Team together, team apart. That is very productive.”
Private happiness - future open
And things are moving in the right direction for the Ukrainian power woman in her private life. She now lives with her children in Bonn. It is only a stone's throw to the corporate headquarters, their location. Marco und Misha attend kindergarten and grammar school, have made friends and feel at home. Thanks to the flexible working hours and the considerate team, Yaroslava also manages to reconcile work and family.
She describes Germany as her second home. “I am infinitely grateful that my family and I can live here in peace. We were received with open arms. That cannot be taken for granted”, she explains. “We never know what life will bring next. Last year taught me to live day by day. That’s why in my private life, I try to make every day a little bit better for me and my kids than the day before. The same applies at work: everyday I am totally focused to bringing value to the company.”
She gets better at it every day. But the situation in Ukraine understandably continues to weigh on her mind. “We feel safe here, but my heart will always be in Ukraine. I pray every day that this unspeakable war will end soon.
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