‘You Can Always Find Common Ground with Others’

Ksenia Chermoshentseva, Student Affairs Manager at the School of Foreign Languages, has extensive experience with intercultural communication going back to her early childhood. This experience helps her in her work—students of the School of Foreign Languages, after all, come from all over the world. Elizaveta Babasyan, a first-year student of the FLaIC programme, interviewed her and asked about the uniqueness of HSE students, as well as about ways of communicating with young people.

What is special about HSE students?  
I think that, above all else, HSE students are distinguished by a kind of purposefulness and focus. They need to know why and how they apply the knowledge they acquire. I think this is a positive feature as it shows their attitude to life. They are goal-oriented.

In what ways does HSE change students?
HSE teaches students how to process a lot of information and wisely manage their time. I believe our programme provides students with a very diverse background. As far as I know, our graduates are now settling in life very well and in many different areas—from fashion and design, to teaching, translation, and intercultural communication.

Do you encounter any challenges when working with student organizations? 
I wouldn’t say that there are any difficulties. I believe that these are parts of a working process, and they can easily be discussed and resolved. The most important part is to have a dialogue or polylogue with the students. Young people are usually open to suggestions and advice, so in most cases it is possible to reach an agreement.

How do you manage to do everything in time even though you have to communicate with so many people?  
Sometimes I surprise myself, but there is a saying ‘You never know what you can do till you try’. The most important thing for me is to be willing to do something. Also, you should be able to ask your colleagues or the administration for advice. And many other things are just a matter of wanting and being able to work.

How can one quickly find common ground with others? 
For me, the main thing is to be able to listen to another person and try to accept or at least understand their point of view. Then you will be able to reach an agreement. I believe that the most important thing is to listen to a person and understand what they want and what you can offer, because you can find common ground in almost all cases.

What do you enjoy most about your work?  
What I truly like about my work is that it helps me grow as a person. I learn about many new things, learn new skills and ideas. My work helps me find new directions in life and discover something new not only in others, but also in myself.
 
What is your favourite place at HSE?
However unexciting it may seem, Staraya Basmannaya has become my second home.

Have you had any memorable moments of interacting with other cultures?
I grew up in Eastern culture because my parents and I lived in India from 1986 to 1991. We stayed there for five years, so I basically lived in another culture. I even experienced cultural shock when I came to Russia because I didn’t know much about it. I didn’t see snow until I was 6 years old. But in general, it was quite natural for me that people can be different, that there are various cultures out there, and that you just coexist with this diversity.

Was it comfortable for you to be surrounded by another culture?  
Indian people are very friendly and sociable. I was completely comfortable with living in a different culture and seeing it as my own. Honestly, Indian culture has even affected my family. For example, we still use a lot of spices when cooking, and without them no dish is complete, just like in India.

Is Indian culture close to you?   
Well, it's interesting. For example, they have national anthems, and they sing them in both Hindi and Sanskrit. It is fascinating music, and it is very different from the music of Western countries. And what I like about Indian people themselves is that they are very tolerant, they don't judge people. People of Indian culture are very curious. And another thing that has always surprised me is that they are multilingual and learn other languages quite quickly, because at least within the country they have to know at least two or three languages.

What would you like to say to the students?
I think that the way a person perceives the world defines their future. And the worst thing that can happen is to become pessimistic and not be able to enjoy the process anymore. What I can wish the students is to find something they like and enjoy. It is important to work not just for the sake of being praised, but for reaching results with which you yourself are happy.