From Russia to Clinton: An International student’s perspective of Mississippi College
“I like everything connected to media,” Anais Eliseeva says. Eliseeva is a 20-year-old international student at Mississippi College, studying journalism and minoring in graphic design. Eliseeva is set to graduate this December, and she has a full schedule this semester. She balances communication classes with three jobs. She works as a receptionist at MC’s Writing Center, a receptionist at the office of Global Education, and she is a photographer for “The Collegian,” MC’s newspaper. Eliseeva hopes to pursue media related jobs in the future, her passions include: retouching images on Photoshop, video editing, and telling captivating stories about individuals lives.
Eliseeva was born and raised in Moscow, Russia, she decided to move to Clinton in the 11th grade. Eliseeva craved new experiences, and she believes MC is good for just that. Her parents currently reside in Moscow, Russia while her grandfather and his wife have lived in Clinton for 15 years. Eliseeva lived with her grandparents for two years before she registered for classes at MC. After three years at MC, Eliseeva was able to become more independent, last August she rented an apartment with a Chinese international student. Eliseeva explained that when she arrived at MC, she was nervous about speaking English. As a journalism major, she realized the assignments required lots of writing, and she started translating her Russian papers into English. She feared grammatical errors, practicing English sentences in her mind before speaking them aloud. Today, Eliseeva confidently speaks English with her speech and writings.
Around 13 million individuals live in Moscow. Eliseeva compared living to Moscow to living in New York because of its overpopulation. In America, there are low buildings while Moscow has skyscrapers. Eliseeva says she commuted around Moscow, the capital city of Russia, using public transportation because of the congested traffic. Driving in Clinton was different for her because of how slow drivers move and hesitate at stop lights. In Moscow, people move at a fast pace, Eliseeva says in Clinton,“Traffic is slow, and everyone is relaxed.” Eliseeva believes the slower, peaceful lifestyle is better for a student because there are fewer distractions.
“I really like it here, the student faculty ratio at MC is good.” Eliseeva enjoys the small classroom environment because she can learn more. The instructors can help her with assignments and explain the lessons to each student in the classroom. She also enjoys the sunny days in Mississippi since the weather in Moscow is mostly cloudy and rainy.
Eliseeva’s sister, Mariam Eliseeva, is 15 years old, and she lives with their parents in Moscow. Mariam visited her older sister for a week, Anais wanted her to see how their classroom environment is at MC. Mariam sat beside Anais, supporting her older sister throughout the interview. She smiled as Anais translated her sister’s opinion of MC, “she likes the weather, the lower population, and the friendly individuals.” Eliseeva’s sister says that she is thinking about attending MC because she can earn a better education at MC than in Russia.
After Eliseeva graduates for MC she wants to move up North because there are more jobs available for journalist. So far, she has traveled to Georgia, Alabama, and California. Although she may move up North, she dislikes big cities, and prefers the small-town lifestyle found in Clinton.
