Chingiz Sharshekeev: "Alumni are worth their weight in gold"

January 15, 2016

Chingiz Sharshekeev is an alumnus of the International and Comparative Politics Department, class of 2001. He told us about his work, career path, and establishment of the new scholarship for students of the International and Comparative Politics Department.

Please, tell us a little about yourself and your job.

I’ve been happily married for 8 years. My lovely wife, Nariste Alieva, is also an AUCA alumna from the Journalism Department. We are the parents of three children, and next year we hoping that our family will grow by another one member. At the moment, I am the head of Quantum X (Kvant-Iks), A company which administers real estate and leases office facilities and industrial premises. In the past, I’ve acted as the head of companies like Ak Maral Inc and M-Video (this is a local company, unrelated to the Russian brand). I was busy working in the distribution of household appliances and electronics from brands like “Samsung,” “LG,” “Daewoo” and “Hansa.”

What do you like most about your job?

Everything is absolutely new for me. It is scary. It is what I will learn to raise business to a new level. As a matter of fact, I have never had to deal with commercial realty, or leasing office and industrial facilities. If earlier I worked in the commerce, now I’m working in the B2B area It is absolutely a different level of relationship, different priorities, different tempi and a different understanding of sales. For a little while, I resisted these new conditions, but now I feel euphoria from this job through its difficulties and challenges. I’ve set goals for myself not just to optimize current activities (boost profits), but I’ve also set goals for the development of companies and facilities.

What motivated your decision to establish a scholarship for students of the International and Comparative Politics Department?

I always knew I would give back to my university one way or another, so I always was motivated. I just had one question: how do you implement it? The answer is not as simple as establishing a scholarship fund and awarding it to students. There is one more idea is behind this initiative. We need to gather as many of our graduates as possible to help our department in general not just with money. I am not alone in this initiative, our group includes Elnura Osmonalieva, Artur Zotov, Halil Razaev, Kumar Bekbolotov, Uluk Kydyrbaev, Kanybek Konokbaev, Saltanat Sadykova and many others. I sincerely hope we find a way to involve all of our graduates. The criteria of the scholarship first and foremost emphasize a student’s good academic record. Second, but still important, is a student’s demonstrated financial need. A little later we will let the University know about amount of scholarship fund and more detailed criteria for students through the Alumni Office and the ICP Department.

What would you consider the highlights of your time at AUCA?

Looking back, it seems to me that all 4 years of studying were interesting and bright. I studied one additional year in the preparatory program (now called the New Generation Academy). As a matter of fact, I wasn’t a very active student. But, I was fascinated with this atmosphere, gifted to me by the former AUK. I see this spirit is still alive and strong in AUCA. I have never experienced such pleasure, I am very much obliged to my alma mater for everything I received. I curse myself a bit now, because I wasn’t as actively involved in student life. Potentially I could have received much more. But I’m thankful to my university, because I managed to go to the USA to study, I obtained an unusual eagerness to study and self-learn. Now it is one of my character traits.

What role has AUCA played in your career?

I can’t give definite answer to this question. But I know, that an AUCA education allows the development of those character traits which enable a person to reach higher levels and set the most ambitious goals. Studying in the International and Comparative Politics Department, I recall the words of our faculty members, Thomas Wood and William Henson, “we study here not to become diplomata, but to learn analytics and critical thinking.” ICP enables you to improve the skills that later enable you in your career and your life to become anyone you want to be. This is probably why there are almost no graduates in politics or diplomacy. Thanks to ICP, whenever I’m faced with a problem, my first step is “digging.” I dig as deep as possible to make the right decision. For example, the initiative for our scholarship fund matured over the course of two years.

What kind of role should AUCA alumni play in supporting the University?

In a sense alumni are worth their weight in gold. They lend importance to the University. They are the vivid embodiment of the many investments people have made in the University. They are the main link between AUCA traditions and history. It is very important for AUCA to keep a close connection with its alumni; however, the alumni themselves also have a responsibility to not lose sight of their alma mater. For current and incoming students, alumni are compasses that show what can be achieved in life when a certain path is chosen. Many graduates want to give back to their own departments or to the university at large, but, sometimes, they do not know how to do it. Sometimes, it is enough just to start some small initiative so that graduates can buy in to the idea of a scholarship. In this sense, the Alumni Office’s offer is very timely and urgent. Working directly with a home department can be very successful: it brings together students and alumni.

Do you have any advice for current students?

Youth, energy, and optimism enable us to set daring and ambitious goals. You should always follow this. Never be scared of anything, but remember that acting haphazardly is also not desirable. Take a look around you, everything created in Kyrgyzstan today was originally the daring goal of daring people. Nothing and nobody could stop them. As a rule, there cannot always be neatly designed plans. At first, there is just a feeling. After that, on the basis of that success, a neatly prescribed company or organization can flourish place. Even AUCA in its infancy was an adventure named the Kyrgyz-American Department within the Kyrgyz State National University. Nobody believed it would survive. And what do we see today? What we see today is the result of Mrs. Kamila Sharshekeeva’s ambitious goals.

What do you think of the new campus?

The new campus is just unbelievable! It took my breath away–really. When I came to the Gala with Nariste, we were amazed by its architecture and its energy–an energy so characteristic of AUCA. I felt myself wanting to study again in this new building. Now go to see it often, because I take several classes and participate some seminars, which are urgent for my job.

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