TAMPA, Fla. — Karyna Builova made America her second home years ago, moving to upstate New York with her middle sister where they both graduated from high school. Now, Karyna has her mind focused on graduating from USF in marketing, but her heart is focused on her family back at home in Ukraine, specifically her mom and her younger sister. 

“They're doing pretty good. My mom is being very, very positive. She doesn't want to start panicking.”

Her family lives in Odessa, Ukraine in the country’s southern region along the Black Sea. That's several hours from Crimea, but still too close to home for Karyna.  

“I am worried, but I'm also trying to stay positive and just hoping that Russia is not trying to bomb peaceful citizens.”

As a college junior, Karyna spends more of her time in front of her laptop then she does a television. But with her home country’s conflict making headlines around the world, she's watching it all unfold from the corner of her room and she's holding onto that universal hope we all share for the ones we love.

“I know it's not gonna be peaceful for a while so my only hope is that my family and friends stay alive.”