Hanna Pryhazhayeva has come a long way since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the economic hardship that followed.
Her journey eventually brought Pryhazhayeva to the University of Saint Joseph, where on Saturday she will be a featured speaker at the undergraduate commencement ceremonies. Pryhazhayeva, 33, completed her nutrition degree in December and has been accepted into a prestigious national dietetic internship at the National Institutes of Health.
Pryhazhayeva loved USJ for its size and “individualized approach” with students. She not only found a good group of friends who now keep in contact through a chat group, but became vice president of an on-campus nutrition club, a lab assistant and most rewardingly a tutor for other students in nutrition and biochemistry.