Sometimes We All Need A Reset...  

Throughout my term this year as NJASA President, I have been privileged to write articles for each edition of On Target. I have purposefully tried to write articles from a personal perspective about events that have touched me and shaped my view of leadership. This article is my most heartfelt one.

Recently, I was in Chicago for a few days. When I studied a guidebook of important sites to see in Chicago, I was surprised to read that Chicago is a sister city to Kyiv and that it has a “Ukrainian Village” that is home to approximately 15,000 people from Ukraine. I knew then that I just had to visit the Ukrainian Village, reach out to its residents, hear their stories and share my profound grief at what they and their families are enduring.

There are no buses and no trains that go to the Ukrainian Village which is on the outskirts of Chicago. A taxi is the only way to get there. The day I went was gray, rainy, very chilly and perfectly matched to what I knew I would experience. As the taxi driver dropped me off on the main street in the Ukrainian Village, I immediately felt that I had been seamlessly transported into an entirely different world. All of the signs on the storefronts were in Ukrainian. As I walked on residential streets there were many multi-family apartment buildings with hardly a window that did not have a picture of the Ukrainian flag taped to it.  As I passed people by in the streets, every single one said good morning to me. I knew I was in a warm and welcoming world. I wandered past some exquisite Ukrainian churches and wondered about the beautiful big sunflowers that I saw at the Saints Volodymyr and Olha Church which looked so inviting on that dreary day. It wasn't until later that evening when I was watching the local news that I understood the story of those beautiful big sunflowers. Presidents Bush and Clinton had quietly visited that church the day before and laid those sunflowers on the steps of the church with the message, “in solidarity.” It was an unpublicized visit. I was 24 hours too late for that ceremony but I was touched by the poignancy of their visit.

Next, I wandered into the Ukrainian National Museum. I had no idea what to expect, but I was about to have one of the most profound experiences of my life. I was warmly greeted by a museum guide who welcomed me despite the fact that the museum was not yet open. She proudly talked about some of the artifacts in the museum. When I asked her if she was from Ukraine, she said that she was not but painfully told me that all her family is still in Ukraine and that her son fiercely wants to go to Ukraine to assist the people there. Her eyes welled up as she spoke and told me many stories of events in Ukraine that were heartbreakingly real and well beyond media coverage or comprehension. When I asked her if her family was safe, she responded quickly that no one is safe in Ukraine, and I realized that I had just asked a very naive question. The tears in the museum guide’s eyes became my tears as she showed me a video on her cell phone of her brother and a friend driving a car in Ukraine smiling at the camera and singing the Ukrainian National Anthem. I could not help but wonder if they were still alive at that moment.

I studied artifacts from a beautiful country with proud inhabitants including exquisite paintings, murals, embroidery, and polished Ukrainian Easter eggs. Newspapers from Ukraine in the 1930s were in a separate room. I was struck by the fact that if the date on the newspapers was changed, it could also be about events today.

The tiny gift shop was filled with dozens of handmade embroidery and jewelry items that were made by local residents from the Ukrainian Village. I was fascinated by a beaded necklace. When I asked the museum guide about who had made the necklace, she told me that a well known local Ukrainian artist made it but that the artist has since left Chicago to return to Ukraine and is now sewing the netting that is used to camouflage small buildings. I bought the necklace.

As I left the museum, I wandered into the small shops along the main street. They were all so different than any shops we typically find in our area. They sold embroidered clothing, polished Easter eggs, handmade jewelry, and hardware items. Shopkeepers spoke Ukrainian and did not understand or speak much English but there was always a shopper nearby who was very willing to translate.  

I stopped and asked a villager where to go for lunch and the Shokolad Pastry and Café was highly recommended. It was an old fashioned small cafe where the cook was the owner who made everything by hand including delicious pierogies and stuffed cabbage. Mouthwatering!  When I left the Ukrainian Village, I felt that I had actually visited Ukraine in a time of peace. I was awed by everyone I met and their strength and resolve during a time of great personal turmoil.

So what does my experience have to do with leadership? It taught me in the most profound way that sometimes we all just need to take a step back to reset and look at events that are far beyond our imagination. As we do so, we hopefully realize that the stresses we have as leaders should not be life altering or unsurmountable. The day was a major reset of priorities for me, and I will always remember the people that I met and how they touched my heart.

Resets can be powerful.

Dr. Janet L. Fike

NJASA President