I am issuing this reprint in response to the multiple errors that were printed in this article from our Winter 2015 issue. In this article Alexey Stanislavovich’s first name, the country he is from and a previously attended university were falsely reported on. As Editor-in-Chief I would like to deeply apologize to Alexey Stanislavovich on behalf of the writer and the entire T&C Magazine staff.
-Taylor Numbers, Editor in Chief of T&C Magazine
Imagine yourself in another part of the world, where everything is completely different from how it is at home. There is even a culture barrier that makes communication difficult for you. For a majority of Otterbein’s international students, including Alexey Stanislavovich, this is exactly the case.
Stanislavovich is a first year business administration major but technically he is a sophomore. He is a Russian citizen who has spent most of his years in its neighboring country of Belarus. Stanislavovich first heard of Otterbein when he was studying in Latvia.
Stanislavovich said that the American college experience is “absolutely different” from that in Latvia. Differences can be seen in everything from the people to the general campus environment and even the amenities. For example, where Stanislavovich is from, the schools don’t have as many dining facilities. They only include one canteen that serves as a dining hall, as well as a café.
Another difference between American and Latvian schools is that when the American professors teach you notice the amount of experience that came along with getting their degrees while Latvian professors focus solely on academics.
“When I’m studying something like financial accounting I just feel all the experience that my professor has [here at Otterbein],” Stanislavovich said.
Stanislavovich stated that he sees the experience of the professors here as motivation to do better. He said that the professors here also do their best to make sure that he understands what he’s learning and studying.
In Latvian schools, professors aren't always available if you have questions as they don't have office hours like most professors in America do. However, “here at Otterbein, every professor cares,” Stanislavovich said.
Stanislovovich noted that a big difference between the American and Russian cultures is that in Russia it is much harder to make friends. Unlike Americans who can develop friendships almost instantly at parties or in social situations, Russians focus more on making meaningful relationships that will last a long time.
The cultures are the same however, when it comes to things like social media. Stanislovoich said that people in Russia still worry about the amount of ‘likes’ and followers they have on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and even their own social media site VK.com.
But Stanislovovich isn’t necessarily interested in things like social media, instead he centers his attention mostly on his academics. Back home, he spent 17 hour a day on school, tutoring, training and homework. In his “free time” he enjoyed things such as boxing, swimming and equine riding.
Stanislovovich was a great boxer who competed in various city competitions in Belarus. He competed under a different name because he didn’t actually belong to the club he was competing for and he won every competition he entered. Eventually, he was invited to compete nationally but decided instead to focus on his academics.
He hoped to continue sparing here in America, however, he has yet to find a club where members can focus on sparing instead of regular cardio-based classes. He does continue to swim though but not as much as he did back home. Mainly because he does not have his own car on campus and the nearest pool is at the Westerville Recreational Center.
Stanislovovich chooses to keep his academics his number one priority here at Otterbein as he is a full-time student. But he still finds time to actively participate in his fraternity, Lambda Gamma Epsilon, otherwise known as Kings, where he is both the Treasurer and Assistant Social Chair.
However, despite how much he enjoys his experience at Otterbein, Stanislavovich said that there are things back home in Russia that he does miss. For him, this includes his family and dog, as well as his friends, coaches and trainers. Like most college students, he had to sacrifice family time in order to continue his education. This was something that Stanislavovich was willing to do.
“To achieve success you need to overstep your fears everyday and always sacrifice something.
This is one of my steps to success in life, and I know that everything that I sacrificed will benefit me with time,” Stanislavovich said.
