Game changing education - Ukranian refugee graduates with first class honours

Ella Bodnar left her hometown of Pokrovsk, Eastern Ukraine, in July 2022 with her mother Jana and brother Oleksii, arriving in the UK via the Homes for Ukraine scheme. The family moved in with their sponsors in Wiltshire, where Ella's mother and brother, now 12, still live.

But Ella decided to take her passion for gaming to the next level and now, three years on, she has graduated from the University of Bradford with first after completing her BA (Hons) Graphics for Games degree.

Ella, 20, said: "I feel at home in the UK. I have changed a lot. When I was in Ukraine, I was a kid. I have more responsibility here. I grew up here.

"My adult life is about to start. I'm happy. I want to move on to try and get something in video gaming."

Family left behind

Ella's father, Viktor, a gynaecologist, stayed in Ukraine to help the war effort, while her grandparents also still live in the country, but three moved from Pokrovsk a year ago.

She recalls seeing news footage in May 2025 featuring her former family home in Pokrovsk falling victim to a bomb attack.

She said: "It is very hard to see what has happened in Ukraine. I saw on the news that my family home in Pokrovsk, has been bombed.

"I just need to move on. If I sat at home and cried, I wouldn't be doing anything with my life. I want to try and create my life, step by step.

"My grandparents and father are in Ukraine. They moved about a year ago. They are safe. Where they were before was under attack for a while.

"My mother and brother are settled in Wiltshire, and they have a really lovely host that they live with."

'Big gamble'

After Ella left Ukraine in 2022, she did not have access to any academic documents, only having her passport, and not completed an English language test, a usual requirement for international students before they can be accepted onto a UK degree course.

But Russ McAnulla, one of Ella's family's UK sponsors, contacted Dr Fin Caton-Rose, the University's Head of Media, Design and Technology, who initially met Ella on a video call, finding out more about her life and career aspirations and asked to see her sketches, which helped earn her a place on the Graphics for Games from October 2022.

She added: "Applying for the University was a big gamble for me. I was lucky that Fin [Caton-Rose] believed in me and my skills.

"University in the UK is different to how it is in Ukraine. In the UK, you have responsibility, you're on your own.

"It was complicated at the start in Bradford. At school, I had already studied English before coming to the UK. But at University I had to significantly improve my language skills, learning to understand different accents and getting used to faster speech. I was seeing new people, and I didn't have any friends at the start."

Proud day

Accompanied by her new UK sponsor family, who she moved in with during her studies in the city, Ella graduated from the University of Bradford on Tuesday 15 July.

She said: "I was very nervous on the day itself. I invited my host family from Bingley to the ceremony, I'm so thankful to them.

"I was really excited to wear the graduation gown. I had just seen it in films before that.

"In Ukraine, our graduation ceremonies are different, we still dress up, but we don't have the robes and gowns. My mother and brother are thinking of coming up for graduation."

What's next for Ella?

Ella aims to transfer her University studies to a career designing computer games and will take her first steps towards that when she takes part in a national competition.

Ella and three of her University friends will spend the summer working on a Slavic mythology-inspired video game for the Transfuzer programme, an annual competition for UK graduates, run by the team behind the UK Games Fund. The game will also have Ukrainian, Polish and English language options.

She said: "I have lots of ideas and a passion to create. I'm really excited to bring my ideas to life.

"I will be searching for work opportunities and see whether I need to do a Master's or not.

"I want to stay in the UK. Looking for a job and career in games design is my priority. I have developed so many new skills at University."