Freddy Lisitsa was a self-described “spoiled brat” when he moved out of his parents’ Beverly Hills home at 15. A decade later, he came to the office of the Veterans Education Program at Fresno State as an anxious and depressed — to quote him again — “mess.”
In between, he sold skateboards on the Venice Beach boardwalk, made lattes as a barista and cleaned sewers. He also served four years in the U.S. Navy to gain a discipline he knew he lacked and to earn G.I Bill benefits so he could attend college without his parents’ help.
Lisitsa found support and connection with others in the Veterans Education Program. “We were all trying to figure out how to become civilians again,” he said.
Officials and instructors in the program provided listening ears and much-needed encouragement as Lisitsa worked his way back to a healthier place in his outlook and emotions. After finishing the Veterans Education Program, he began pursuit of a bachelor’s degree at Fresno State as a double psychology and philosophy major. He graduated in May 2025 and was selected as the President’s Undergraduate Medalist, the university’s top honor for an undergraduate student. Now, he is currently the operations manager for Associated Students, Inc. at Fresno State and has plans to earn dual doctoral and law degrees in the future.
It was quite a transformation from the rebellious 15-year-old who grew up with wealth provided by a Ukrainian father with a booming construction business. As a boy, Lisitsa split his time between Ukraine and Los Angeles, where his mother ran a nonprofit organization. In his early teenage years, international and personal events changed his life. Increasing tensions in the 2010s between Ukraine and Russia resulted in Lisitsa living full time in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, tensions in his family led to his parents divorcing after his father’s business collapsed. Then Lisitsa dropped out of high school, though he did pass a diploma equivalency test.
“I thought I was too smart for school,” he said. Looking back, he sees the years of bouncing from skateboard salesman to sewer cleaner as a swirling mess. “It was an exciting but horribly stupid time.”
Then came the decision to enlist in the Navy. He earned honors in boot camp, became a sonar technician and deployed on a destroyer to the Persian Gulf. Lisitsa took pride in doing his job, but, he said, he also experienced hellish times that are best left behind and not spoken about.
After leaving the Navy, Lisitsa could not find work, and as he struggled, his wife told him about the Veterans Education Program. While a student at Fresno State, she’d seen the program’s office, and she encouraged him to go there.
Lisitsa, 24, went with a conflicted mindset. It was easy to tell himself it was a waste of time, while at a deeper level he yearned for an opportunity to attend a university. He says he presented poorly — stuttering and unable to look anyone in the eye — when he walked through the doors of the Veterans Education Program. The semester had already started, but Lisitsa was given a place in the program conditional that he work hard to catch up.
“‘OK, I’ll be here tomorrow,’” Lisitsa recalls. “I suddenly felt an excitement that I hadn’t had in quite a while.”
While Lisitsa was in the Veterans Education Program, Russia invaded Ukraine, triggering a new source of anxiety about family members who still live there.
“It was hard to sleep. We didn’t know if they were safe, and it was just constant stress,” he said.
Having a place to belong and people to talk to helped him through that time, he said. Lisitsa continued to build on that sense of belonging as he moved into regular classes at Fresno State. He and another veteran revived the Student Veterans Organization, a campus club that offers the camaraderie and connection found in the Veterans Education Program. In addition, Lisitsa got involved in student government, serving as both a senator and executive vice president.
From hopelessness to that level of involvement, the Veterans Education Program was his bridge, and Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval is among the people he met on the journey. They connected while Lisitsa was in the program.
“I was a nobody at that time, but the president took two hours out of his schedule to talk with me and hear my story. We’ve kept in touch since then,” Lisitsa said. “I was still such a mess then, but it was formative to have people like him care.”
(Written by Douglas Hoagland. This story was first published in ACCESS Magazine, a publication of the Division of Continuing and Global Education.)
