Vladyslav Yerko is as one of the most successful Ukrainian interpreters of the world classics, and acclaimed master of graphic arts Ukrainian Section IBBY highly recommends Vladyslav Yerko for Hans Christian Andersen Award. He has been a member of the National Union of Ukrainian Artists since 1989. Books with illustrations of Vladyslav Yerko were published in 20 countries.

  Perhaps, there are not so many people in Ukraine and in the world, who don’t know name of Vladyslav Yerko. “The Snow Queen” with his illustrations is published from Great Britain to South Korea and received a lot of appreciative comments and awards.

  ​The pictures below are some of his works of fairy tales by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen.

  As you can see from the picture above, his painting style is very realistic and detailed, and contains images that have a lot of meaning on one screen. Crossing between reality and fantasy, even looking at just one picture, you fall into the illusion that you are reading a book. Children who like to let their imagination run wild will have many dreams for a long time looking at his paintings.

  His colorful, exquisite, emotional illustrations attract everyone, who just open his books. The artist does not depict the plot of the text, but fills it with emotions, visual details, thousands of shades and lines. 

  ​However, although he was an illustrator who drew such fantastic, mythologically beautiful pictures, when he actually made his paintings known to each publisher, he had to be rejected because of the complexity and numerous details of the paintings.

  ​Perhaps, from the standpoint of a publishing company that prints and sells, they prefer animated pictures that are easy to read and consume rather than artistic pictures like his paintings.

  But the reader's eyes were different and accurate. Within just a few years, the Snow Queen, the fairy tale of Andersen's fairy tale with which he painted, made it into the UK Christmas gift wish list.  And it wasn't long before his illustrations exploded in popularity, making him the most successful illustrator.

  However, he doesn't like appeal as a superstar. He is skeptical of his work and does not like to praise himself and at the same time dislike being criticized.

 He said, “I deeply enjoy the process. And what happens later doesn't bother me.”

  Until he understood that he had created his own style and found his own right path. Codes and symbols intertwined in the course of a long work, depicting the artist's reflection. 

  ​If you are interested in his paintings and want to know more details, the site below will help you. It contains detailed descriptions of his statements, achievements, career and publications, as well as his biography.

  Go to the contents as shown as below: go !

  ​The following is a collection of pictures that personally moved me.

  ​Looking at the pictures above, I think it is the most beautiful children's book in the world. I bought it for my daughter because I wanted to keep it personally. When the picture book arrives, I would like to share the contents one by one.

  I'm going to go camping for a while. Below are the camping sites we booked.

  Drawing for over 10 years, I eagle to study to upgrade myself and broaden the horizons of my artistic world. 

  For these reasons, I have been considering going to graduate school since the beginning of this year. But deciding which subjects to take and which courses to take was a big concern for me. It's the reason that I'm not going out of art school as self-taught artist and doing activities. In the early days, for example, in the first five years, I was often asked whether or not I graduated from art school. However, almost 10 years have passed since then, and only a few people ask me about that. 

  Conversely, this means that it is no longer important whether or not I have graduated from art school as I have been doing art exhibitions and painting continuously for over 10 years without breaking my careers. Rather, it is more important whether the work has been upgraded by that much, whether there is a specific pattern that I can tell immediately by looking at the picture, whether the world as an artist is becoming more and more solid, and whether there is a certain charm to appeal to the public. 

 In this regard, I decided to go straight to graduate school instead of starting as an undergraduate of art school. And I applied to each of the two graduate schools. The unnamed graduate school was disappointing in many ways. There was no response as to whether or not I received the portfolio sent for admission, and when I asked a question to the school, there was no response or he kept tossing me to another department, avoiding his responsibility and answer.

  Above all, almost before the start of the new semester, they do not tell me whether I have passed or not. Of course, I have asked several times. I no longer wanted to contact or attend this disappointing school. I'm just very worried about the future of that graduate school.

  Another school I applied to is the University of Adelphi. I respect all the faculty and staff of this university's graduate school. When I contacted them, they were surprisingly quick to respond within minutes. As everyone knows, even a very busy professor took less than a day to answer. They responded quickly and kindly as if they were chatting in real time. Thanks to this, I did not have time to feel any worries, fears, or vagueness.

  The quality of the answers is also very special. Instead of giving short and yes or no answers, they try to solve the problem as much as possible by attaching the link and estimating what difficulties I may have. I did not know what to do or what to do because it was the first time I went to graduate school in the United States after immigrating to the United States and becoming an American. But they are great guides to me like a lighthouse.

  As much as I have free time, I plan to write here my experiences and impressions while attending this school. Below is a screen shot of this campus site that you will see once you become a student at that school.

  The below screen is a main intro page of the university. And I had to click the eCampus to create my classes for fall 2022/2023. 

  ​You can register for a course by clicking the class icon below.

  When you enter the class, you can check the menu for course registration as shown below, the financial aid menu for various awards and loans, and the health record menu. Additionally, you can check your e-bills or housing deposit to make a payment. Here is shown your grades per each semester. 

  If you become a student of the Adelphi University, you can get a great service as shown as below : 

  ​Currently, I have completed the 9-credit course registration for the fall semester and I am contacting a practitioner to apply for Financial Aid. I will post a description of the school and major later.

  ​I got US citizenship after 9 years of moving to the US. Today is the day of the oath ceremony. After arriving in the United States, settling in, looking for a house, having children, and working, 9 years seem to pass like an arrow.

  ​And after successfully completing the interview, today is the day to go to the oath ceremony. The location and time of the oath ceremony will be notified individually by mail. Therefore, the place is individually different. In my case, I did not receive a letter from the immigration office. I checked through the Internet, and fortunately, the lawyer who helped with the paperwork double-checked me, so I found the location and date.

  ​And normally, the oath ceremony was held within one to two months after the interview, but in my case, the oath ceremony was held exactly six months after the interview in February.

  ​It's been a long wait, but I'm glad I got to take the oath today. Today is the day I became an American.

  ​Since the oath ceremony was held at 9 am, we departed earlier at 8 am. The oath ceremony is about 30 minutes away from my house.

  When I arrived, the people who came to get citizenship like me were all going in one direction. I also joined these processions. Upon entering the entrance, there was a QR code and a monitor on the left side of the large lobby. This is where you enter information about Covid-19. I took a QR code with my cell phone camera, went to the website, simply entered information about the Covid-19, and received a conformation QR code. Show this QR code on the display monitor right next to it and the whole process is finished. If you don't want to use the Internet like this, you can simply fill out the paperwork on the table.

  ​And before going upstairs, you have to go through a security check. At the security check point, you must turn off your cell phone and give it to the staff. The staff will keep your cell phone and give you a number so you can pick it up later.

  ​As I went up to the second floor, another employee checked the interview documents I had received at home. After checking that there are no unanswered questions, you will be asked to finally fill in some missing information. In case of this, it is recommended to bring a pen with you.

  You cannot bring drinks and snacks with you upon entry. And it is better to wear a formal suit like a suit. USCIS instructs all applicants to dress in attire that “respects the dignity” of the Oath of Allegiance ceremony. The agency specifically prohibits wearing jeans, shorts, and flip flops.

  If friends and family are accompanying you, there is a place like a cafeteria  where they can wait while watching the monitor. There are also some simple meals that the family can eat here.

  ​Upon entering, another staff member will tell you where to sit. Most of the staff are very friendly. Go to the chair and there is a yellow envelope on the chair. The following documents are included in the envelope. The most important of the documents is a small piece of paper prepared for the oath. On that piece of paper is written what is to be sworn in.

  ​I have to sit on a chair and wait until all the chairs in the hall are full. Waiting time seems to be about 30-40 minutes. I prepared a book to read for the waiting time and it was very useful. Because you can't look at your phone, it will be very boring.

  ​Once the seats are filled, the staff will explain the simple procedure. And everyone has to wait for the judge to arrive. The whole process took me about 3 hours. These waiting times are different. For my son, it took an hour and a half.

  When the judge arrives, he will give you a detailed explanation, including the purpose of the oath. Then, after having everyone stand up, raise your right hand and read the oath together. Later, I play Pledge of Allegiance with one hand on my chest looking at the flag. At this point, I immediately had a indescribable feeling.because I never expected this day to come in my life.

  At the conclusion of the oath, the judge gives an additional speech. He talks about  the attitude as an American, our duties and responsibilities, and rights. And we talk about how many people from different countries took the oath on the same day and call each country to stand up. In my case, it seems that there were about 10 South.Koreans.

  ​After that, each person is called by rows of the block in chairs. At this time, you must give the interview related documents you received at home and your permanent residence card to the employee. The employee has a green card and will not return it. Because it is no longer needed. I feel secure in the sense that my identity for my place of residence is solidified. They will then look at the interview material and ask if anything has changed. I talked about the name because the name changes. The staff tells you to go to the window that suits you here.

  ​When you go to the counter, another staff member double-checks that the name has been changed and has them sign autographs. You can sign an existing one or create a new one. I signed the old one.

  ​And as soon as you go to the next window, there are two staff who help you register to vote. Documents in Spanish and English are ready. Fill it out with the relevant documents and return it to us.

  ​When everyone in the hall completes this process, the judge will notify them that they are all done and send a congratulatory message. And after calling each person's name, they finally hand out documents proving citizenship. Once you receive this certificate, you can go straight home.

  ​In my case, I went downstairs again, got my phone back, and finished all the process. At the entrance, there is an empty space with pictures of President Biden and Vice President Harrison and an American flag. Everyone line up here and take a commemorative photo.

   The staff were all friendly and hospitable and there was no need to be particularly nervous or stressed as the whole process went smoothly. Instead, be sure to bring the appropriate documents, arrive at least 30 minutes in advance, bring a book to read while waiting, charge your phone well, wear neat and formal clothes, bring a pen and a mask. 

  ​Doing something for the first time, whatever it is, is very nerve-wracking. But after going through all the steps, I think I can look back a little more leisurely.


​ I hope my brief experience will be of some help to you.