When seniorsJulia Grasham andJenya Bailey stepped onto campus their freshman year, they did so with unique stories of the journey that had brought them here. "I lived in the Ukraine for the first 16 years of my life," Grasham said. "When I was about six years old, I was taken to the orphanage by government officials due to my parents' inability to take care of my brother and me. I lived in the orphanage for the remaining 10 years until my adoption to the States.Just like here, I was required to attend school and have homework time. Unlike here, during breaks I had to remain at school with the rest of the children 24/7." Although life in the orphanage may not have been ideal, Grasham added that she did have a few good memories, including the relationship she formed with lifelong friend Bailey. 'jenya and I were really good friends back in the Ukraine," Grasham said. "We were in the same orphanage together for three years. WhileJenya was in one of their summer camps, she met an American lady named Memphis, [who] took interest in adoptingJenya. AfterJenya came to the U.S., she met my [future] adoptive parents, Toni and Bill Grasham, and asked if they were interested in adopting my brother, Nik, and me, since they had adopted children previous to this. They agreed." Moving to the U.S. with her brother and being reunited with Bailey were precious moments for Grasham, but the task Playing a grune of nertz, seniorJulia Grasham enjoys time with junior Kristin Powers in the student center. Grasham would often go to the student center to play cards with friends. Courtesy ofJulia Grasham Graduate student Jessica Knoske and Grasham enjoy some down time in their dorm. Grasham and Knoske had lived together since their freshman year. Courtesy ofKelly Russell ~tA~ to finis of adjusting to a foreign culture with a language she did not know was a challenge, for both her and for her new family. "It was difficult to communicate with my family members due to me not knowing any English and them not speaking any Russian," Grasham said. "For some time we had to communicate via portable electronic translators." In 2008, Grasham and Bailey added attending Harding to the list of experiences they had shared and met some friends along the way, including graduate studentJ essica Knoske. "I metJulia in 2004 at CampJudson in Erie, Penn.," l(noske said. "I thought she didn't like me, but it turns out she just didn't know much English." The trio had been best friends ever since and had roomed together at Harding for the past four years. According to Grasham, her experiences at college had been irreplaceable. "My favorite Harding memory was during a summer session," Grasham said. "Chuck Nivens and Buddy Welborn organized this fun event where they purchased 40 bags of baking flour and then got a whole bunch of people together and all of us had a blast throwing baking flour all over each other." When asked her favorite thing about Harding, Grasham answered without any hesitation. "The best thing about Harding is the people," Grasham said. John Shrable People 22'1 IA#A -
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==