Mariuska and her family. She writes on Facebook, "Pray for the future of Venezuela."

Upon entering college in the fall, I had expected to meet some interesting people, but I’d never imagined meeting someone so fundamentally involved in political conflict as my current roommate, Mariuska Stepenka.

Mariuska lives a life of contentment at USC, free to discuss any and all of her political belief, but this wasn’t always the case. After her father's apathy toward the government’s socialist agenda became public, Mariuska and her family were forced to flee their home country of Venezuela. 

“My dad worked for a national Venezuelan oil company, and one day, during the 2002 attempt of the coup in Venezuela, they came into his work office and asked him if he was part of the revolution or if he was against it," explained Mariuska. "He just said that he never had a political agenda that he didn’t really care, that he was there to work."

Not even anti-government, her father’s truthful answers cost him more than just federal disapproval.

“What ended up happening was that he had to turn over the keys to his car that was given to him by the company, the keys to his office, and the computer and everything," said Mariuska. "That was it. They just kicked him out.” 

READ MORE: Venezuela: Faces Of The Protest

From there, things only seemed to get worse.

“It took my dad about two years to get a stable job because they put out a list in the newspapers with the names of the workers that were getting kicked out of the companies," Mariuska said. "Every time my dad would go and try to find a job, the government would send a letter saying ‘Oh, this person was kicked out because he was not part of the revolution.’ So my dad would only work for like a month in each company.”

After years of employment struggles, he finally found a job in 2006 outside the country. The Stepenkas had no choice but to leave their home in Venezuela. 

“That is pretty much every Venezuelan person you’ll meet outside of the country, said Mariuska, explaining that her family is not alone in their circumstance. "It’s because [they’re not for the Venezuelan government].”

For those stuck in the country, being “pro-government” is not exactly a choice. “Basically if you have a work position in a government agency, like, let’s say you work for a hospital, they’ll pretty much threaten you if you don’t vote for the government or if you post on Facebook something against the government, you’ll get threatened to lose your job,” Mariuska said.

READ MORE: What's Going On In Venezuela: A Visual Breakdown

Even after the political strife her family endured, there’s still no place like home for the Stepenkas.

“I do miss it,” my roommate told me, “because my family is still there and I can’t see them.”

Although she is no longer geographically close to in the political uprisings, Mariuska is still a voice for the Venezuelan people.

“The only thing I can do [is post on social media]. Since I know so many people from around the world, the only thing I can do for people to know what’s going on, because they’ve sanctioned and closed down the media inside the country," she said. "I feel like people like me are the right people to be spreading the word, because I know so many people from everywhere. So they’ll know what’s going on and share it with their friends.”

While the world continues to learn about the Venezuelan revolution, citizens of the country are still largely uninformed.

“Unless you’re out on the streets going to the protests, and you’re the ones in the pictures, that’s the only people that know,” Mariuska said. “My grandparents, who’ve stayed at home, are not sure what’s really going on, because nothing is shown on TV. They don’t know the magnitude because they’re not out on the streets.”

So what is Venezuelan media currently like? “If you turn on the TV, it’s just going to be the president talking. Or they have the novelas, like the regular TV,” according to Mariuska. “It’s like nothing is happening. Outside news channels from foreign countries have all been shut down. They’re not allowed to bring information. Freelance reporters are the ones who are taking pictures and posting them on social media. They’ve shut down Twitter accounts; they’ve regulated the Internet; it’s insane.”

Contact reporter Sarah Collins here. Follow her on Twitter here.