Far, far away from home

by Belle Penaranda
Flat Hat Staff Writer

COURTESY PHOTO - www.vickiscollegefund.com

Vicki Pavlova currently resides far from her home with a host family.

Freshman Vicki Pavlova doesn't schedule anything at 6:30 on Thursday evenings. This is the specific time when the entire family gets together at the house for dinner, just "one of those things where everybody comes."

Perhaps this doesn't seem so unusual to some people, but to Pavlova, a 17-year old exchange student originally from Russia, it still takes some getting used to. She is staying with Steve and Gilinda Rogers, whose extended family all live in the area. Therefore, Thursday nights are big events, when approximately 16 or 17 people reunite for dinner.

"It's one of their traditions," Pavlova said. "Back in Russia, we would always say that we'd all have dinner together sometime, someday. It was never a regular thing like it is here."

Pavlova's biological family ‹ her father, mother and sister ‹ lives in Russia. However, she doesn't hesitate to consider the Rogers (and the rest of the extended family, including grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins) as her second family.

Now Pavlova is a freshman here at the College, but it was only a little over a year ago that she attended her first day at an American high school as part of an exchange program. According to her, the application process was competitive, with only a few selected from about a thousand applicants. Pavlova made it in the second time she applied, passing all three required tests ‹ two English language tests and a psychological test.

"There was a lot of competition, because everyone wanted to come," Pavlova said. "Also, the American government pays for everything. They pay for the visa, tickets and even give us an allowance of $100 per month."

She recalls that her first day at Jamestown High School wasn't the best, being on crutches after breaking her ankle. Even worse, although she spoke some English, she couldn't understand it very well.

"I came into school and this guy came up to me, and was like, 'What's up?'" she said. "Of course, I could only say 'Um, hi?' I was so shy, being in a new country. People would be talking to me, and I wouldn't understand because they'd be saying too much at one time."

In a short amount of time, Pavlova's English improved dramatically. After all, she was taking several Advanced Placement courses as well as a theater class, in which she practiced her speech everyday. She recalls a time when she proved her newfound English skills to herself and others.

"I tried out for a play, and the director told me that I couldn't be in it, because nobody would understand me," she said. "But I said that I would try, at least, and I ended up getting a big part, which was great."

Theater is one of Pavlova's passions, and this easily becomes apparent by the way she talks about her involvement in it. She was a part of Russian theater for seven years, and, of course, she has continued here in the States. In fact, she will star as part of the dancing chorus in "Bakkhai," which opens Oct. 12 at Phi Beta Kappa Hall. She says that practice takes up most of her time, but she doesn't mind because she enjoys it so much.

In fact, it was the theatre department that stood out the most during her first visit to the College.

"I saw a play here last year and really liked it. I love theater, almost more than anything else in the world, and the department here is wonderful and well-known," Pavlova said.

Her host grandparents are alumni of the College, so she heard a lot about the school from them. Also, her host family lives on Jamestown Road by Lake Matoaka, which is only about a 15-minute walk from campus.

"All you'd hear about in Russia are Harvard, Princeton and Yale. Nobody knows about William and Mary, but it's what I chose. I love it here," she said.

Before she was accepted to the College, she was already accepted to Christopher Newport University. She also wanted to apply to Brown and New York University but missed their deadlines.

Pavlova tells the story of when she decided to stay in the United States for college.

"I came here for the exchange program last August, and I was supposed to go back to Russia in June," she said. "I had the ticket in my hands, but two days before I left, I found out that I was accepted to the College. I had to call my mom to tell her that I would be staying here."

According to Pavlova, telling her parents, Aleksej and Natalja, of her decision was one of the hardest things she ever had to do.

"I didn't realize how ready I was to go home. I wanted to see my parents, sister and friends. Also, I hadn't spoken Russian in a long time. But at the same time, my host family was becoming like a real family to me."

Pavlova probably won't be able to see her family until she graduates because travel is expensive. Her parents would rather have her use the $2,000 it takes for airfare in her schooling.

Besides, an extra $2,000 is not exactly easy to come by for the Pavlova family. The economic situation in Russia at the moment is severe, where the minimum monthly payment for each family is $5, making it impossible for students like Pavlova to afford an American college education.

She currently has a loan to pay for her tuition here, which adds up to approximately $18,000, the same as any other out-of-state student. However, since the College is a public school, its loans and traditional grants can only go to U.S. citizens. There was a large scholarship fund at Jamestown High School for two district schools in the county, but she was "unable to apply even though [her] grades were excellent," according to her website.

On Pavlova's website, www.vickiscollegefund.com, she includes her reasons for wanting to attend an American college, her outlook on the future, a letter she wrote to colleges and a letter her parents also wrote to schools.

Part of her parents' letter reads: "She [Pavlova] understands the value of the knowledge she can get in your college and what a big role that education may play in her whole future life Š"

On the main page of the website, a meter indicates that she has received pledges for about $2,800. It's a relatively small amount of money so far, considering that she has to raise enough money to pay back her tuition for all four years of school, but Pavlova says that is only part of it.

"People go to this website and even though they may not have a lot of money to contribute, they send me e-mails with advice and suggestions. Everything helps," she said. "They might tell me to consult a certain company because they might have a scholarship to offer me. And a lot of the time, it works. Mostly though, I just really appreciate the support I've been getting. The responses I've been getting have been wonderful."

Pavlova has also written several Russian-American companies for support, but according to her, there haven't been too many results from that. She has also worked a few babysitting jobs to add to her college fund because she can't legally get any other jobs.

Other than that, Pavlova has remained busy with other activities. Besides being involved in theater, she loves music, volunteering, spending time with her friends here and keeping in touch with her friends from back home. She is also taking 16 credits this semester, with classes like art of literature and introduction to philosophy.

"[Philosophy] professor Bohl is tough. He talks a lot about the meanings of this word and that word," she said. "You have to really feel the language, and so I'm kind of struggling with it right now. It's a lot of discussion, but he's cool."

At present, the area of study she is most interested in pursuing a career in is communications. However, since the College does not offer that major, she is looking into double majoring in theatre and international relations.

"If I went to college in Russia and studied something other than math or science, then my education just wouldn't be that good," Pavlova said. "Schools in America just have so much more to offer. Being fluent in English will really be helpful to me once I go back to Russia as well."

On her website, she also says that in Russia, "people suffer because there is absolutely no kind of communication among them Š They don't know the basics of understanding one another."

From a certain standpoint, the outlook on Pavlova's future may seem somewhat cloudy. After all, the financial situation ultimately decides if she will stay at the College or not. However, she refuses to look at it only that way, and she remains optimistic.

"The social and economic status in Russia right now is not the best. Our country needs people in communications," she said. "I believe that getting an education here will be a turning point in my life because then I know that I can use this education to make a difference. And I do believe, unlike most people, that one person can make a difference. If you want to help, then you can help. That is my main goal right now -- to go back and help my country."

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