Elana Charlton - August 2023

Born and raised in Ukraine, Elana Charlton first came to the U.S. as a foreign exchange student after winning a student leadership scholarship. After going back home to finish university, she returned for a job opportunity in Maine and stayed to work and raise her own family. Although it was love at first sight with Maine’s natural beauty, she does acknowledge it was a challenge adjusting from life in a big city, especially when her first week was spent stuck in a hotel during a February blizzard. “Now, 15 and a half years later, it’s a completely different environment, a lot of people have seen what I have seen and they love it as well. I see [Maine’s] potential maybe as some sort of tech or educational hub. I have a kid that’s growing up here, and I’m very excited for his future.” At the moment, however, with her homeland under attack by Russian forces, life has become stressful, for herself and her family, as well as for the entire Ukrainian community, which has come together to support one another and their families back home. Mainers have also shown their support, as Elana saw when she took her visiting mother out for a drive. “Practically every other house had a Ukrainian flag on it. And it just warms my heart, because you know that you’re not alone.”