Meerim Karybaeva: AUCA is a great place to come back to again and again

May 25, 2017

AUCA alumni have gone on to achieve many great things after graduation, across numerous career paths. Meerim Karybaeva is one of them. She is currently working at the Regional Firm Centil as the Senior Associate. She graduated with honors from the Law Department in 2007. She also volunteers her time as a Country Representative for the Erasmus Mundus Alumni Association in Kyrgyzstan and as a member of the ProKG Professionals

Tell us about your career path

- Right after graduation, I worked as a Lawyer at law firms and at KICB commercial bank for 3 years. Now I work with a strong team of lawyers and Partners at Centil Law Firm. Most of our partners and associates graduated from the oldest US, German and UK law schools, and have previously worked in international law firms. Our successful and extensive experience in practicing law, a thorough knowledge of the local business environment and a clear understanding of clients’ needs, all help our team to add real value at all stages of a client’s project, from initiation to implementation.

Thanks to my dearest professors at AUCA Law Department, I do love what I do. A while ago I was invited by the AUCA Career Center to give a guest lecture on legal careers in Kyrgyzstan. I told students that every class offered in the Department is important and skills acquired are invaluable. During my studies we learned how to write legal memoranda or opinions, and since my very first week at work I have applied those skills and knowledge. It never meant though that skills must not be polished; on the contrary, AUCA gave me a sense of time which flows and which we need to use to improve.

This special, friendly atmosphere in our university taught us to communicate freely with other people in smaller groups or, say, at large economic or legal forums with representatives from other countries.

- What do you remember from your time at AUCA?

- I remember three major events when we played different roles: Initiations 2003, when some of my girlfriends and I were dancing on the stage and the other girls were looking at us and laughing, of course. The Junior’s Ball first initiated by the Student Senate one of its members, my brother, Mirbek Karybaev. We felt like adults wearing beautiful cocktail dresses and make-up, smiling and posing for paparazzi with a glass of champagne. The publishing of the 2007 Yearbook by the same Senate (for the first time in AUCA history!) was a pleasant chance to feel like we were real models (we did not have Instagram at that time, only hi5))

I remember studying hard, cozy libraries and precious times spent with my girlfriends.

And I keep in my heart one emotional moment, which happened when I was defending my senior thesis. There was a room full of commission members and me standing in front of them with my presentation and thesis findings. When I pronounced the last sentence of my presentation, breathless, I looked over at Elida Kanybekovna. She looked back and nodded. Relieved!

- What kind of difficulties did you face after graduation University?

- It is hard to recall difficult moments now after graduation, but I do not think there were some. I thought I could be taking more academic leaves and going on student exchange programs abroad. There is no rule prescribing that the bachelor’s degree must be made within 4 years sharp. 

- You did your Master's in Europe, did you apply to graduate school right after undergraduate? What advice do you have for other students who want to pursue education after their Bachelor's?

- Yes, I received a master degree at the European Master's in Law and Economics Program. It is a joint Master's Program of the Rotterdam School of Law, Hamburg University and the Bologna University. I decided to continue my studies after 5 years of professional experience when I realized that I needed more of an international exposure and skills in a related discipline such as economics. I am convinced that a lawyer specializing in commercial deals and consulting must be acquainted with the basic principles of markets functioning and should understand relations between law and economics.

Well, if you ask then I would encourage current students to enjoy the fruits AUCA offers and apply to various exchange programs and gain international experience. However, I would definitely recommend applying to graduate programs after getting at least few years of professional experience.

After my studies in Europe I have become a Country Representative to Kyrgyzstan of the Erasmus Alumni Association. As a CR, I conduct overview lectures on Erasmus Programs. If current students or AUCA alumni are interested in learning more, they are free to contact me. 

- What would you like to thank AUCA for?

- I loved studying at AUK. AUCA is a great place to study, to find friends, and to come back to again and again. I would like to thank our Professors: Elida Kanybekovna for giving so much knowledge gently, Kamila – for teaching us International Commercial Arbitration and US Contracts and for being elegantly strict, Natalia Borisovna - for passionately sharing legal skills with us, Saltanat Kumenovna and Mahinur Asanovna – for their wisdom, and those who are no longer with us - Aron Abramovich and Ben Horne – for being great professors.

AUCA alumni have gone on to achieve many great things after graduation, across numerous career paths. Meerim Karybaeva is one of them. She is currently working at the Regional Firm Centil as the Senior Associate. She graduated with honors from the Law Department in 2007. She also volunteers her time as a Country Representative for the Erasmus Mundus Alumni Association in Kyrgyzstan and as a member of the ProKG Professionals

Tell us about your career path

- Right after graduation, I worked as a Lawyer at law firms and at KICB commercial bank for 3 years. Now I work with a strong team of lawyers and Partners at Centil Law Firm. Most of our partners and associates graduated from the oldest US, German and UK law schools, and have previously worked in international law firms. Our successful and extensive experience in practicing law, a thorough knowledge of the local business environment and a clear understanding of clients’ needs, all help our team to add real value at all stages of a client’s project, from initiation to implementation.

Thanks to my dearest professors at AUCA Law Department, I do love what I do. A while ago I was invited by the AUCA Career Center to give a guest lecture on legal careers in Kyrgyzstan. I told students that every class offered in the Department is important and skills acquired are invaluable. During my studies we learned how to write legal memoranda or opinions, and since my very first week at work I have applied those skills and knowledge. It never meant though that skills must not be polished; on the contrary, AUCA gave me a sense of time which flows and which we need to use to improve.

This special, friendly atmosphere in our university taught us to communicate freely with other people in smaller groups or, say, at large economic or legal forums with representatives from other countries.

- What do you remember from your time at AUCA?

- I remember three major events when we played different roles: Initiations 2003, when some of my girlfriends and I were dancing on the stage and the other girls were looking at us and laughing, of course. The Junior’s Ball first initiated by the Student Senate one of its members, my brother, Mirbek Karybaev. We felt like adults wearing beautiful cocktail dresses and make-up, smiling and posing for paparazzi with a glass of champagne. The publishing of the 2007 Yearbook by the same Senate (for the first time in AUCA history!) was a pleasant chance to feel like we were real models (we did not have Instagram at that time, only hi5))

I remember studying hard, cozy libraries and precious times spent with my girlfriends.

And I keep in my heart one emotional moment, which happened when I was defending my senior thesis. There was a room full of commission members and me standing in front of them with my presentation and thesis findings. When I pronounced the last sentence of my presentation, breathless, I looked over at Elida Kanybekovna. She looked back and nodded. Relieved!

- What kind of difficulties did you face after graduation University?

- It is hard to recall difficult moments now after graduation, but I do not think there were some. I thought I could be taking more academic leaves and going on student exchange programs abroad. There is no rule prescribing that the bachelor’s degree must be made within 4 years sharp. 

- You did your Master's in Europe, did you apply to graduate school right after undergraduate? What advice do you have for other students who want to pursue education after their Bachelor's?

- Yes, I received a master degree at the European Master's in Law and Economics Program. It is a joint Master's Program of the Rotterdam School of Law, Hamburg University and the Bologna University. I decided to continue my studies after 5 years of professional experience when I realized that I needed more of an international exposure and skills in a related discipline such as economics. I am convinced that a lawyer specializing in commercial deals and consulting must be acquainted with the basic principles of markets functioning and should understand relations between law and economics.

Well, if you ask then I would encourage current students to enjoy the fruits AUCA offers and apply to various exchange programs and gain international experience. However, I would definitely recommend applying to graduate programs after getting at least few years of professional experience.

After my studies in Europe I have become a Country Representative to Kyrgyzstan of the Erasmus Alumni Association. As a CR, I conduct overview lectures on Erasmus Programs. If current students or AUCA alumni are interested in learning more, they are free to contact me. 

- What would you like to thank AUCA for?

- I loved studying at AUK. AUCA is a great place to study, to find friends, and to come back to again and again. I would like to thank our Professors: Elida Kanybekovna for giving so much knowledge gently, Kamila – for teaching us International Commercial Arbitration and US Contracts and for being elegantly strict, Natalia Borisovna - for passionately sharing legal skills with us, Saltanat Kumenovna and Mahinur Asanovna – for their wisdom, and those who are no longer with us - Aron Abramovich and Ben Horne – for being great professors.

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