Mykyta Dementyev
He/Him
I am gay and I am a materials scientist and engineer.//
My name is Mykyta and I am a PhD candidate at Penn State studying Materials Science and Engineering. Life has been interesting, coming to the US, seeking asylum from Russian aggression, and on top of that hiding the queer identity that I am now proudly holding.
During my younger years, it was important not to say/disclose what my sexual orientation was because it was not welcomed by Ukrainian society. For that, a part of me was glad to move away from that culture, even though I feel pain every day from the constant killing of my fellow people by Russian missiles. I am very happy to see that the culture is slowly changing towards being more accepting, even during the full-scale war. Moving to the US opened so much for me academically and personally, for which I will be forever grateful. But I also wish to help the Ukrainian community the best I can.
Being queer is a part of my life that I cannot change, and I hope one day to contribute my scientific and personal perspectives to the development of my free country, free from homophobia, and free to do what the people want to do! Thank you for reading.