She’s lived and traveled across the globe, and now Viktoria Brunets leans on those experiences to teach her students about their best friend, Jesus.

Viktoria spent her childhood in the country of Georgia and her teenage years and early adulthood in Ukraine. Then, she and her family moved to Israel for eight years. “As an Adventist family, this experience was incredibly enriching,” she says. “We learned to celebrate, not just keep, the Sabbath, and embraced many Jewish traditions. We had no trouble keeping the Sabbath and finding kosher food there.” 

But in 2008, after the war started, her family decided to seek safety and a fresh start in Canada. She accepted a job at Sandy Lake Academy teaching in the Junior Primary program, where preschool-aged students develop the foundational skills they’ll need to excel in elementary school and beyond.

“I have had the privilege of teaching the youngest ones at SLA for 11 years,” she shares. “My passion for teaching children has always guided me throughout my career choices. Teaching is a part of my nature. I love children and creating connections with them. It is my great pleasure to teach Grade JP-P [Junior Primary and Primary] and see their enthusiasm and curiosity for learning.”

Viktoria’s classroom is a multicultural environment, and she welcomes children from various countries and backgrounds. “I work hard to create an inclusive and positive atmosphere where all children feel celebrated,” she says. “My goal is to create a learning environment where each student feels like an important part of the modern world. We are a very multicultural class group, with families representing almost every continent.”

This is something she finds personally rewarding and in line with her own multicultural upbringing. “I am so happy to have the opportunity to learn about all the different cultures represented,” she says. “Children are like flowers—different shapes, sizes, and colors, and together they make a beautiful garden!”

Her students aren’t the only ones to benefit from this outlook she and her fellow educators share. “I always strive to build great relationships with the parents in our classroom and help them understand that everyone is important and valued in our small but friendly Christian school family,” Viktoria says. “The Bible teaches that ‘we are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other’ (Rom.12:5, NLT). This is one of the many blessings of Adventist education.”

Viktoria understands these blessings in ways many others can’t. “Having grown up in a communist country, I never had the opportunity to be a student at an Adventist school,” she explains. “Growing up in the Soviet Union, courage was a big part of my life. Back then, talking about God or going to a Christian school was not allowed. School was open six days a week, including Saturdays, which clashed with my beliefs. This caused teachers to disrespect my parents and allowed other kids to make fun of me.” 

She recounts how every Monday her math teacher would pick on her in front of the class, pointing out how she went to church on Saturdays rather than coming to school like the other students. “So, every Sunday, I'd go to a friend's house to borrow homework and study the weekend's math, just to be ready for Monday's tests,” Viktoria says. When her family moved to Ukraine, where schools were only open five days a week, she became one of the top students in her class because of her habit of hard work. 

It was through all of those challenges that Viktoria learned to stand strong in her personal and religious beliefs, and those lessons still guide her today and let her pass on that knowledge to her students. “With God's help, I excelled in math and eventually became a teacher,” she says. “Here, I share my story and teach students about the importance of standing up for what is right.”

Her experiences also give her a unique perspective on Adventist education. “Now that I am teaching in our Adventist school, I can really see the differences and values it installs in our students,” she shares. “Christian education is very important to me. I feel that it is my mission to teach students about kindness, generosity, sharing, and love through Bible stories. It is my greatest joy to see my students’ first sparks of interest in learning new skills, guiding them in how to pray to God and know Jesus as a friend. This is the most important part of my work.” 

“What a privilege it is to teach at an Adventist school, where I can freely share my love for Jesus with my students and their families!” she adds. “This is the reason why I chose to work at an Adventist school.”