During an online search last year, Yuliya Gluhova learned about Mississippi State鈥檚 anthropology program and its availability of scholarships for international and transfer students. After two years attending community college in New York, she decided to move south to enroll at MSU. Though she misses her native Turkmenistan, Gluhova said she is grateful to have found a welcoming and supportive home-away-from-home in Mississippi.
鈥淲e have a lot of international students here at Mississippi State, and it makes me feel at ease to know I鈥檓 part of a community of people who are going through similar experiences, like not having family in the United States and learning to adapt to American culture,鈥 she said. 鈥淧eople in the South also are very welcoming and greet you with a smile, or a 鈥榟ello鈥 or 鈥榟ow are you doing.鈥 Feeling that warmth has made it easier to make the transition.鈥
Gluhova said she also has benefited from the help and enthusiasm of fellow students and faculty in MSU鈥檚 Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures, where she is concentrating in medical anthropology. She lists Associate Professors Shane Miller and Molly Zuckerman, as well as Lecturer Anna Grace Tribble among her favorite faculty in the department.
鈥淒r. Miller arranged for a couple of students in the department to pick me up from the Memphis airport and bring me to Starkville when I was first moving here,鈥 Gluhova said. 鈥淒r. Zuckerman is so passionate about research, writing and teaching, and she inspires me to do them as well. She told me about public health, so now I鈥檓 considering going into that for graduate school. Anna Grace is a good mentor. She鈥檚 a graduate student, so it鈥檚 always nice to talk to her because I can ask questions about that and other opportunities I can be a part of too.鈥
In addition to her academic studies, Gluhova is enjoying extracurricular and service opportunities at MSU and in the local community. She is a student ambassador for the College of Arts and Sciences and likes to attend potluck dinners and other events for international students.
Gluhova also has participated in MSU鈥檚 Montgomery Leadership Program. As part of an MLP capstone project, she and a couple of MSU classmates cooked a meal last semester for approximately 50 people in need at the Casserole Kitchen, an effort organized by the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection. They also created an Instagram account, so the Casserole Kitchen could post updates about meal availability or requests for volunteers.
鈥淚t was nice going to the Casserole Kitchen because it reminded me of when I volunteered to distribute produce to people with disabilities back in Turkmenistan,鈥 Gluhova said. 鈥淢y grandfather was part of that community. I also know from personal experience that it鈥檚 hard to not have a lot of money or food on the table, but important to have neighbors who do and can help.鈥
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