糖心Vlog传媒

International student leaves behind a legacy of leadership

For the past four years, Ann Kharlamova has considered the University of Arkansas at Little Rock her second home, where she has been able to grow, make friends, and gain invaluable professional experience. Kharlamova, a native of Cherepovets, Russia, first came to the United States as a high school exchange student in Texarkana during her junior year. After returning to Russia and graduating, she was recruited by 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 swim team. On May 11, she graduated with two bachelor鈥檚 degrees in marketing and business analytics. 鈥淎nn has been a pillar of leadership in our program over the last four years,鈥� said 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Swimming and Diving Coach Amy Burgess. 鈥淪he left an impression wherever she went on campus.鈥� Kharlamova鈥檚 accomplishments go beyond the swim team. She also served as an ambassador in the Chancellor鈥檚 Leadership Corps and worked for Testing Services. 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to lie. It was challenging,鈥� Kharlamova said. 鈥淭here was a lot of time management involved, but I realized that the sky is your only limit.鈥� Outside of her busy life as a student, worker, and athlete, Kharlamova still found the time to make lifelong friends despite being thousands of miles away from her friends and family in Russia. 鈥淚 enjoyed every night I spent with my girls on the swim team, and every single practice we had was memorable,鈥� Kharlamova said. 鈥淥ur freshman year training trip to Puerto Rico was especially memorable. We got to go to the best beaches, but it was also very challenging. It really prepared all of us for competitions.鈥� As a student, Kharlamova excelled in her coursework and became very involved in research during her senior year. She and another student recently gave an award-winning presentation at the 2019 Student Research and Creative Works Expo and also presented the same project at a major business law conference in San Antonio. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see how your hard work pays off. I鈥檓 very thankful to Dr. Casey Rockwell (Kharlamova鈥檚 faculty mentor) for convincing us to do this with her,鈥� Kharlamova said. After graduation, Kharlamova plans to stay in Arkansas and work a few years before pursuing a master鈥檚 degree in a business-related field. She encourages anyone, regardless of where they live or what they want to do, to consider 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock for their education. 鈥淵our experience is what you make it, no matter where you go. I truly believe that you need the heart of a Trojan to be here, and I see that in my classmates and teammates,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have great programs, and you get a level of one-on-one attention from your professors here that I don鈥檛 see at other schools. I鈥檓 very thankful to have been here.鈥�