Meet BC
"Today," says Serguei Smirnov, 24, "I'm a third-year student at Brooklyn College majoring in chemistry and psychology. I'm very proud of that fact." But in the spring of 2003, just six years ago, Serguei was lightyears from here, having just arrived at JFK airport from Russia. He had the promise of a dishwashing job at an upstate summer camp. In his pockets he had a total of forty-four dollars. But in his heart, he had much more: hope for a new life in America. Serguei was born under the flag of the old Soviet Union and grew up under the banner of the new Russian Federation. But like many other Russians of his generation he saw his hopes for a life free of oppression and corruption fade as hard work and talent were discounted while bribes and connections grew in value. Though he worked long and hard at Saint-Petersburg Medical Lyceum, the Russian equivalent of a U.S. pre-med curriculum, and was admitted to Saint-Petersburg State Medical University, he says that he quickly came to realize he had no real chance of achieving his full potential and gaining recognition inside the former Soviet Union, echoing a lament familiar to New York immigrants for centuries. "I decided to come to America," Serguei says. After first completing his summer dishwashing commitment, Serguei says, he returned to Brooklyn with $500 in his pocket. He found a place to live and began working a series of low-paying temporary jobs while he set about extending his immigration status. With luck he found work in the furniture business, increasing his income. Then he turned his attention back to advancing his education. "I found Brooklyn College," he says. "I couldn't afford a college where the tuition costs $10,000. Here I can work at the Brooklyn College Learning Center, I can do workshops with minority students, I can get financial aid and scholarship monies and make it through. I can become a surgeon." "It's the fulfillment of my dreams," he adds. |
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