|
Looking to the Future By Laura McFarland She went to the cultural exchange meeting to get out of taking an Algebra test. She never dreamed it would lead to her traveling halfway around the world. For Elena Kurshinova, who is now a junior business major, winning the contest that brought her from her hometown of Zaporozhye, Ukraine, to the United States to attend high school was a dream come true. Now, five years later, Kurshinova has been awarded the Chancellor’s Award that will allow her to finish college at TCU. The scholarship will cover her tuition for the next two years. “Sometimes, I still can’t believe I’m here,” Kurshinova said. “It’s been easier because I have a family — my host family — here to support me emotionally and financially. Coming to the United States has given me a great opportunity to succeed in life.” How it all began When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 and Ukraine became an independent country, the government job her mother held dissolved with it and money became a problem. “We had to do without many things,” Kurshinova said. “Now that I am in the United States, I get excited about things that others wouldn’t really think about, like being able to eat breakfast every morning and buying gifts for friends.” In high school, Kurshinova heard about the Freedom Support Act, a program that gives disadvantaged youths the chance to live with host families in the United States. The competition for the program was fierce. Kurshinova had to go through three rounds of multiple choice tests, essays, applications and recommendations before she was chosen as one of 50 finalists to be questioned by American interviewers. Seven months later, Kurshinova got the call that would change her life. “I didn’t start jumping up and down or anything,” she said. “At first, I didn’t really understand what had happened. It was really unreal and exciting. It took awhile to get used to the fact that I was chosen.” Kurshinova’s mother, Natalia, started crying when she heard the good news. She wanted her daughter to participate because it would give her the possibility for a better future than the one that awaited her in Ukraine. More than a culture shock Along with the other exchange students, Kurshinova was taken to New York for a weeklong orientation to prepare them for the culture shock of living in America. “At orientation, we were told that the United States was different and that we would experience a culture shock, but we didn’t really think it would happen,” Kurshinova said. “They were right. I wish now that I had listened to them more closely.” In her first week of high school, Kurshinova couldn’t understand her teachers at all. It took about a month before English got easier for her to understand. She also found that having a foreign exchange student in class wasn’t as intriguing for her new classmates as it would have been in her old school. “I think I expected that people would know about my culture, but they didn’t,” Kurshinova said. “That is why I was warned not to be offended when people asked me silly questions.” After her stay in the United States, Kurshinova returned to Ukraine to finish high school. But she already knew she would return to the States after graduation. “Elena’s mother has always been very supportive in helping Elena improve,” said Megg Elliott, Kurshinova’s host mother. “I think she knew that if Elena had stayed in Ukraine, she would be married or doing menial work.” Return home offers harsh reality For over a year, Kurshinova said, she enjoyed her stay with the Elliotts, but homesickness and a desire to finish high school made Kurshinova return to Ukraine for her final year in high school. After graduation, she realized her educational and employment opportunities would be extremely limited if she remained in Ukraine. So Kurshinova returned to Fort Worth and enrolled at Tarrant County College, where she maintained a straight A average for two years. “Elena has her own internal drive,” Elliott said. “Academics come first because that is her ticket. But even if she got a B or C, we would still always be proud of her.” A bright future ahead Though TCU was the college Kurshinova said she most wanted to attend, she knew she lacked the money to pay for it. She applied for numerous scholarships so she could finish college, only to learn that most of them required U.S. citizenship. “The price was so much that I was looking at other colleges,” Kurshinova said. “I truly wanted to come to TCU because both the school and the business program have a great reputation. I went to the International Admissions Office and Financial Aid, and they decided to award me the scholarship.” Kurshinova said she hopes one day she will be able to use her business degree to work for a company with ties to both the United States and Ukraine. “Right now, it seems that the best thing for me to do is stay in the U.S. and become established,” Kurshinova said. “Ukraine is a good country, but it is still developing, and there are not a lot of opportunities for me there.” When Kurshinova started working in the Admissions Office this summer, she became the president of International Ambassadors, a program that encourages TCU’s recruitment of international students. “We recruit international students to come to TCU by writing them letters and calling,” Kurshinova said. “I think it is great because we do get a huge response from students in other countries. “TCU has such a nice atmosphere and everyone I have met on the campus has been really friendly. There are so many things that I can become involved with and people that I can meet. At TCU, you always have something to do.” Laura McFarland
|
|
The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999, 2000 Credits |