Page 50 - UD Magazine Vol. 31 No. 1

A CONVERSATION with...
On Feb. 24, 2022, Atnre Alleyne, AS09M, awoke to the sound of bombs. Two days later, the Ukraine resident returned to work, speaking virtually to students in TeenSHARP, the college-prep, youth leadership program he co- founded with his wife as a UD graduate student that has sent hundreds of students to the country’s top universities. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” he told them, quoting the immortal words of Dr. King. Here, the political science and international relations alumnus reflects on the past year and offers a hopeful but sobering reminder of our shared humanity.
How are you and your family?
We’re okay. We reached the Poland border on March 5, last year. Technically, we’re refugees, but I have a job. I make American dollars. I feel like I’ve been blessed in so many ways.
Some people argue against overseas philanthropy, citing overwhelming, existing need in the U.S. Yet you’re overseas, focusing on American students while raising three kids of your own. What drives you?
I feel like we have a capacity to do both/and. You can care about humanity—all of it—when you put good into the world. Everything connects.
Is that the message you shared last February?
Yes. Whether it’s Putin or racial injustice, you need a fierce urgency of now. You need courage. There needs to be a fire that keeps burning. There will always be a level of distraction, but what really matters, and how do you stay connected to those things?
How do you?
At TeenSHARP, we have a community that sharpens each other. We believe “love is candor,” so we give honest, open feedback. We coach students in academic rigor, college know-how, financial aid, everything. We’re crafting future leaders. It’s tiring, but very rewarding work.
Atnre Alleyne, AS09M, and his wife, Tatiana Poladko
What has life taught you that school could not?
Imagine living in Newark and there’s a war. You’d think, ‘Who’s coming here? This isn’t a strategic target.’ But neither was Bucha [the site of a Russian-led massacre that left 458 dead]. I don’t care what kind of political science training you’ve had, it’s hard to theorize. It’s hard to think like a depraved dictator. That’s why I think America struggles with Putin. We can’t imagine someone killing civilians, women and children like this.
What do you wish more Americans understood about the war?
There were a lot of videos of how badly Black people were treated. I heard people say, ‘Why should we care [about the war]? Look how they’re treating us.’ My response is, ‘Some of
this is true, but be careful. Americans are not used to cyberwarfare.’ Putin was creating and fomenting dissention. We believe it can’t happen to us, and that’s what makes us so vulnerable.
When you reflect on such a harrowing year, what memories stand out most?
I was sleeping with one of our children; my wife was in the bedroom with another child. We were outside Kiev, but it felt like it was right there. The bombs were everywhere. There’s disbelief, an indescribable fear that America, fortunately, has been spared. My daughter’s 7th birthday was the next day, and we had a cake. She had a whole plan—she wanted to wear leather pants and get her hair straightened. It was sad.
What gives you hope?
On the morning of the war, we walked to the store, and people were there, working. When we arrived at the hotel, the chef had left, so other staff cooked us breakfast. On trains, people wouldn’t accept our money. The volunteers who took us to the border wouldn’t take money. Our daughter still takes virtual Chinese lessons, taught in the dark by her Ukrainian teacher because of attacks to the infrastructure there. My kickboxing coach is fighting in the war. I am continually inspired by the Ukrainian people.
48 University of Delaware Magazine