ICEF Student Snezhana Yerashova: Y1 of Master’s Programme in Financial Economics Through the Eyes of Class Rep
Snezhana Yerashova entered ICEF Master’s Programme after completing her economics degree in Lomonosov Moscow State University. Good-natured and committed, her classmates wouldn’t find a better candidate to be their representative. Nor would we find a more apt person to ask first about how our new cohort are doing in their new environment and what they think about their first few months in ICEF.
Snezhana, why did you choose to do your master’s in ICEF? What guided your choice?
ICEF can add value to my training as an economist. My alma mater – Moscow State University, where I learned fundamental approaches and was able to do research with kind encouragement from my mentors – is what I can turn to any moment for support or advice, but here in ICEF, with more networking opportunities, I can do more.
Another thing that guided my choice was the ICEF faculty. Its core members are accomplished academics, some hired from abroad, who impart knowledge to us with unfailing kindness. There won’t be a one-word answer to your question, but one thing is sure: the support and guidance to be found here with research and career-wise will always be inherent in ICEF.
What are your impressions of the first few months here? ICEF must be something else I guess, compared to your previous experience at MSU.
My impressions are highly positive. Everything is clear and nice. Studying does take effort, but it’s not like having to work flat out to get just a satisfying result. The teachers are objective in grading and help their students digest the material. As a result, the environment here is conducive to many of the issues missed in my bachelor’s study becoming clear. I am incredibly grateful for what I learned while a bachelor’s student, but the in-person teaching seems to be much more beneficial than Zoom classes that we had during the COVID lockdown.
Is there anything that hasn’t turned out the way you expected? And which of your expectations proved right?
It came as a nice surprise to me to enjoy so much support from the Studies Office and its amazing team – Sabina Babaeva, Olga Nizhevich, Ekaterina Nikonova. It’s absolutely impossible to be left out without help when you have such supportive people around.
Also, it’s a curious experience for me to be a part of this international blend of cultures in my class. More so because they chose me to be their representative. My expectations of using English in the classroom proved right, although with a minor variation: I expected it to be different from the way we use English in everyday life and was a little bit surprised at how some terms, that sound obvious in Russian, have entirely different meanings in English.
So how is the instruction in English going for you? Are you good with mathematical and financial terms?
It’s fun. Jokes aside, we can always ask our teachers to clarify a term that sounds ambiguous. I assimilate those mathematical and financial terms all right while following the seminar powerpoints and explanations from the teachers.
What do you like most about the curriculum?
The possibility to choose courses. Learning from and being taught by both Russian and international academics. The wide array of coursework and thesis topics to choose from. The approachability of teachers and the studies office for research or career advice.
Which course seems to be most interesting and why?
Modules 1 and 2 teach Mathematics for Economists, Microeconomics, Econometrics, and Macroeconomics. Of these, I best enjoy Professor Zasorin’s seminars on Mathematics for Economists. Professor Zasorin has a talent for using simple language and real-life theorem applications to explain complex phenomena. It’s amazing.
Another course I’m very keen to learn is Derivatives. This elective is taught by Ekaterina Sidorenko, who is a field expert and another amazing specialist who can light fire in students by encouraging them to want to embrace this crazy adventure called life. Our thirst for news – and finding out how it affects economies and finance – we owe it to her.
How else are the teachers appealing?
Each of our teachers here has their own special appeal. Those I had the opportunity to communicate with, share one common feature – profound dedication to teaching. It gives them satisfaction to see the message gotten across. You listen to them talk and you get this irresistible feeling of wanting to be like them and to reach what they have reached.
I imagine you’ve got a lot on in your role as a class representative. But have you yourself joined any student organization or a sports club?
I have an idea for a brand new student organization. I and my friends have already built one from scratch in Moscow State University. It deals with organizing concerts. I had to pull out of it because of international internships, but it’s still up and running as a monthly Music Hour with free admission upon prior registration.
How do you like the campus? The coworking spaces and the library, how convenient are they for student activities?
The campus has many coworking spaces and I like that. The library is an attraction of its own and is open 24 hours to accommodate all schedules. The interior design, with its elevated environment and the atrium, has a really nice feel to.
Have you been to any on-campus events?
Yes, I have been to a meeting that involved the second-year students, teachers, the academic supervisor, and the Studies Office. I really like the vibe of ICEF and the easy going manner of its teachers.
Tell us about your group. Have you made friends with many people?
Sure. Who wouldn’t want to be friends with a class rep?)
I am very sociable and I try to get to know everyone as soon as possible. It’s a diverse group of people I am in, they come from different parts of Russia and the world. I have known some of them from before, for example my classmate Veronika Livintseva, but all the other ones were new. It is always a nice experience to meet people to share impressions and ideas. I knew straight away they were amazing personalities.
What do you do in your free time? Do you make time to pursue your passions or did you have to give them up to concentrate on study?
In my free time I like to socialize, travel, and learn. While in Moscow State University, I’ve travelled to China and France. This past summer I discovered a programme that granted me a summer school course in China with all expenses paid including flights.
Sports, mostly gym workouts, seem to have always been on my schedule, but I can’t say there’s one sport I particularly concentrate on. I love stretching and yoga, but I’m clearly not a professional. I have many passions, simple ones, from hand embroidery to reading articles, but true, some of them had to be given up. The two I still pursue are reading and music. I’m a classical guitar player.
What books do you like to read? Name your favorites or those that impressed you most.
I like almost every book I read. Especially the books I’m recommended by my elder sister. There are many that I really like, so let me mention just a few: The Last Secret by Bernard Werber, classic detective stories by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Erle Stanley Gardner, Arthur Hailey, Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and other great writers, Illusions by Richard Bach. This latter book made a strong impression on me with its philosophy – a reminder to stop worrying about the end result and to enjoy your journey as you go (although it’s not the only message of this book). As to my major related books, the ones deserving to be mentioned specifically are the works by Daniel Kahneman, and Hernando de Soto’s The Other Path: The Economic Answer to Terrorism.
Who are your personal role models and what makes you look up to them?
I look up to anyone who is passionate about what they do – the people who can, as Alexander Pushkin put it, “ignite the people’s hearts with words.” While a school student – I studied at the School of Economics and Mathematics under Lomonosov Moscow State University – I had the honor of meeting business angel and venture investor Alexander Borodich, and no less interesting entrepreneur Vitaly Shtarev. They were one of the first people in my life who led me to believe everything is doable.
Now I’m drawing inspiration from the people around me – those who seek self-improvement and to whom the sky is not the limit. Some are to be found here in ICEF and I’m very grateful to know them.
What is your life motto?
Nothing is impossible. It may sound trivial, but many things in our lives do turn out easier and more attainable than we think. Especially when we start taking steps towards them.