Bakai Moldoshev: “New York City is the coldest and most expensive but also the most impressive and memorable city.”

February 13, 2023

Moldoshev Bakai is a junior student in the Anthropology department specializing in International Development. Last semester he spent in New York studying at The Bard Globalization and International Affairs program.

I came to the university as an NGA student and joined the Anthropology Department. During my time here, I have participated in countless volunteer activities, social projects, and conferences inside and outside of AUCA student life. I was president of NGA, served in the Senate, was a member of Enactus, worked at the Kyrgyz Social Innovation Lab, and volunteered with Youth for Social Progress. In addition, the anthropology department has given me every opportunity to participate in many exchange programs and projects related to the social sciences. My concentration is international development, and I believe that anthropologists play an important role as development practitioners. And my motivation is to serve society. During this time at university, I have acquired many skills, which make me feel confident everywhere and always.

Last spring, because of the advice of my sister, I applied for the OSUN Mobility student exchange program at BGIA. And I was able to go to New York City (Manhattan) for the fall semester. The Bard Globalization and International Affairs program is a study in international relations and an internship at the organization for a semester. It's an invaluable experience, and I encourage everyone to try to apply there. Well, the application process itself is pretty easy because you do everything point by point on the platform.

During my internship in New York City, I interned at “Welcome to Chinatown”, a nonprofit organization located in Manhattan's Chinatown. The organization was founded in 2020 and has raised over $2 million in donations through projects and grants to strengthen and meet the critical needs of the Chinatown community and its entrepreneurs. Two Chinese-American friends founded this organization. I worked with one of them really closely, she was our coordinator, and her name is Victoria Lee. I was a business development intern, helped to organize projects, looked for grants, helped with documentation, and more. And also our internship was paid and we got a lot of nice perks like tickets to the NBA, Gala dinners, and tours of Chinatown.

New York City is the coldest and most expensive but also the most impressive and memorable city. I was fascinated by how atmospheric, dynamic, cosmopolitan, global, and great this city is. I want to go back and work there because this city loves hard-working people. As a student, I had to save money and find alternative ways to save money in terms of deals, not paying for mobile data, and not paying for the subway. It was laborious however I accumulated many unforgettable moments during my time in this city. One of my memories is when a friend and I were able to go to Madison Square Garden and get our pictures taken with famous UFC fighters like Aljamain Sterling and Kevin Holland. Well, my favorite place in New York City is DUMBO, it's a great view of New York City at night and my friends and I could spend hours there talking about many things.

I had four classes a week, one for each day, and on Fridays I was free. Each pair lasted two hours, from 4 pm to 6 pm. That way we could combine practice, study, and getting to know the city. The courses were interesting and informative, and the instructors were top-notch. They work in cutting-edge companies and organizations, for example, we had a journalist from the NY times teach us. One of my favorite pairs was "Foreign Policy in Internet Times," taught by Yelmira Bairasly, BGIA program director, writer, speaker, researcher, consultant, mentor, CEO, and educator. In this course, we discussed notions of power, world order, the nation-state, and the impact of globalization and technology on foreign policy politics. And we also debated, worked on the reports, and read a lot about foreign policy. I liked this course so much that I decided to pursue a master's degree in Foreign Policy or Political Studies.

My advice for AUCA students: Always believe in yourself, your strength, and your dreams, because you are the game changer of your life.

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