"I studied in Russia as a foreign student, but I never felt like one"

Tonka Lange moved to Russia from Bulgaria and entered the Higher School of Economics as a foreign student. She now holds the position of a Senior Treasury Analyst at Amazon Treasury and manages all of the company's finances in the Asia-Pacific region. In the interview, she spoke about her studies in Russia.

“Although I studied in Russia as a foreign student, I never felt that way. Fr om the age of 11 I lived in Russia, because my parents worked there. As a foreigner, I did not have the right to get a higher education for free, so I could choose any university and enter it without exams, including the best ones, like the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University.

Together with my parents, we chose the HSE and University of London double degree program, because the London School of Economics and Political Science is a reliable brand that employers in all countries trust. There was only one problem, the language. The fact is that in Moscow I studied in one of the best physics and mathematics lyceums, wh ere I determinedly studied figures, but not languages. Despite that, I wanted to take it to a new level and get a better education, so I ordered myself to cram English.

HSE gives you some cool and very rewarding skills by keeping you incredibly toned. As a specialist, you have “exams” at work every day, you need to get used to it a little earlier and be able to cope with challenges.”

Source: HSE Press Service