Foster School of Business

Foster School of Business

I was born in a small village in the outskirts of Uzbekistan. It is one of the poorest and most isolated areas of the country. The economy of the region, as well as of the whole country was supported by the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan was burdened with high unemployment, rapid inflation, and shattered infrastructure that could not support any economic revival. Most families, especially those in suburbs of the country, were struggling to get by. Consequently, most students in my village could not even dream about going to a university. I was one of those students. However, in 2005, I participated and became one of the finalists of the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program. The program was administered by the State Department of the United States (US); it gave an opportunity to students with outstanding academic record to study in the US high school for a year. At that point, I knew that there was a chance that someday I might be able to go to a university.

When I was learning English back in Uzbekistan, books published during the Soviet regime were the only source of information about American culture. Unfortunately, much of the information in those books was biased and subjectively critical of the US. Hence, the students who had a genuine interest in American culture were subjected to a propaganda, which portrayed the American people and culture in a very negative way. Therefore, I reasonably expected my future experience in the US to be nothing more than the affirmation of statements made in those books. But, I was off to a big surprise.

Interestingly, by observing American culture, I was able to get a sense of my own culture as well. When I was growing up, it w...

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.... Despite having a full time job that I need to support my family and myself and being a full time student, I was able to maintain a 3.9 GPA. I was awarded a Certificate of Commendation for achieving the Dean’s List several times. In the fall of 2011, I was invited to Sigma Beta Delta, international honor society for business, management, and administration.

In conclusion, I was fortunate enough to understand many important things in life. One of those things is that we do not always begin at the desired start line, but through effort and strong will we can arrive at the desired finish line, where the outcome of our plans and goals reside. In my pursuit of education, I faced many challenges and hardships, but I always viewed them as temporary setbacks not as a finish line. I am certain that an opportunity to study at the UW would help me reach my finish line.