What I expected from graduate school and what I received was far beyond my expectations.

I spent three years after graduating from Moscow State University gaining work experience and meticulously choosing my next place of study. Going to graduate school is no doubt a serious choice worth big financial and time investments. When making such decisions, one has to be 150 percent sure about the purpose and added value of the school.

Thus, choosing a right school was a big deal for me.

Talking to GPS alumni eased my final decision to come here. Now, I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions in my life.

The people make a difference.

The faculty and Student Affairs and Career Services teams comprise great professionals. But what is more important is they support you every day, every hour. Their main goal is your success.

The faculty challenges you intellectually and bring your analysis to the next level but also makes sure you feel comfortable with the material.

Meanwhile, the Student Affairs team takes care of your other matters, albeit advising on which courses to take to hiring a tutor to cope with the most challenging ones.  You name it, and they already are on it.

And our beautiful Career Services team—you can hardly find more attentive and caring people. I am pretty sure while I am writing this over winter break, they are scouting for new openings that suit our individual interests.

During the first week at GPS, they went through our CVs, taught us how to write motivational cover letters, helped us master networking skills and how to stay focused on finding the perfect career path.

As for classmates, they surround you almost 24/7. They are the best part and one of the reasons to come to GPS.

Imagine the most well-rounded, experienced and kind people of various background from all over the world in one place. I don't know if anything can be cooler than that.

You constantly learn from each other, get to know different cultures, approaches and perspectives on the most common problems—it’s surprising how diverse the world is and how common our problems are.

This has for sure deepened my understanding of global processes, made my mind more flexible and critical and immensely enriched my knowledge.

GPS students nominate one another to contribute to this series. Read “Why GPS: Genuine support for your future career,” authored by Samuel Huang, 2018 MIA candidate, who tagged Kozhakhmetova to write this excerpt.