Innovision Fall 2019

26 | INNOVISION MAGAZINE American Advertising Federation (AAF), a club that works together on an advertising campaign that will be presented in April in New York City; the club’s goal is to teach students about developing and implementing effective advertising campaigns. Although Kamilya is enjoying her time at Kutztown University, there were some initial challenges she faced moving to the U.S. While moving to Seoul helped her gain the independence she needed to study abroad, she still struggles with being away from her family. Despite getting homesick from time to time, she manages to stay in close contact with her family. Kamilya also misses that everything was within walking distance in Kazakhstan; here, it’s very hard to travel without a car. Another challenge she faced was the food. In Kazakhstan, food variety was scarce, but the quality was great; it’s almost vice versa in America. Kamilya did not go to college in Kazakhstan, but there are many differences between schools there and schools in America. She says one of the major differences is class size. It is typical for groups of 25-30 students to take the same courses and be advised under the same supervisor. Also, students are not allowed to pick their own courses; a set schedule is given by the institution every year. As Kamilya reflects on her last semester at Kutztown, she appreciates all the time she has spent here and looks forward to her future. As December quickly approaches, she is hoping to make headway in her profession and gain as much real-world experience as she can get. She has her eyes on a full-time position or internship post-graduation. ABROAD It is fair to say that senior study abroad student Kamilya Zhabykbayeva knows her way around the world. Before coming to the U.S., Kamilya lived inTaraz, Kazakhstan; the population size inTaraz was 360,000. She wanted to expand her horizons. Before attending Kutztown University, Kamilya studied at a university in Seoul, South Korea for two years. Although she loved the culture of Seoul, she wanted to earn her degree from an English-speaking university. Thus, Kutztown University came into the picture. Kutztown University first caught Kamilya’s eye when she was researching accredited business programs; KU being one of them. Although she chose to pursue a business administration degree, Kamilya debated on majoring in psychology. As a happy medium, she picked up a marketing track which is about understanding human behavior and their psychology. Although she planned to study and live in Asia, Kamilya is glad she made the transition to the U.S. She says, “Kutztown University feels like its own small world. I have met some very important people in my life who have made my experience at KUmore memorable.” She argues that living on campus since her first semester has kept her social throughout the years. She says, “I like being on campus because I feel more involved and it’s easier to connect with other people.” Besides her social life, Kamilya is involved on campus whilemaintaining a job as a Community Assistant for Resident Life. She is a part of the KAMILYA ZHABYKBAYEVA ‘19 Kamilya Zhabykbayeva is a senior abroad student majoring in Business Administration with a minor in Marketing. She will graduate in December. “Kutztown University feels like its own small world. I have met some very important people in my life who have made my experience at KU more memorable.”