Added: 18th September 2024 by Buro Happold
At Buro Happold, we strive to create a safe and inclusive workplace for all our employees. Diversity and inclusion are important to our practice, and we aim to foster a culture where all our people have the support and opportunities to reach and exceed their potential.
Susanna Arutiunian made the heart-wrenching decision to leave Kyiv in the Ukraine and travel to the UK in April 2022, along with her 70-year-old mother, Tamara, to escape the war. Susanna left behind two brothers, their children and her extended family.
Neither Susanna nor her mother could speak English and the journey was very hard but life in East Ukraine had become incredibly difficult as they were situated only 25 miles away from the front line. At one point, Susanna and her family had to live underground beneath a school for a whole week to protect themselves from the bombing.
After this, they decided to move to West Ukraine. Normally, this journey would take eight hours, but it took them more than 24 hours to get to their destination and it was hard to endure. Susanna describes the journey as “terrible”.
They were then tasked with finding someone who could help them get a visa for the UK, and also a host family so they had accommodation. Susanna had no connections in the UK and couldn’t speak English, so this next leg of the journey was equally daunting.
Susanna and Tamara found a host family in Frome in Somerset, through a fellow Ukrainian and long-time friend Yuliia Panasiuk, who helped them secure a visa as she had already settled in the UK from the Ukraine with her son. They stayed with hosts, David and Louise Murray for a year and are forever grateful for the support and care they showed them.
In Kyiv, Susanna had worked for a range of construction companies, and local government bodies with her last position being project manager for ArtBudService. She also has a Master’s degree in Project Management from Donetsk State University of Management. Susanna heard about Buro Happold through her small network of friends in Frome and was interviewed by Bath office partner, Claire Smith and Lloyd Baker, Discipline Unit Leader.
