Fourteen years ago, I decided that I wanted to live in the United States, where I could succeed in any career path I might choose. For a high school student in the small Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan, this was a lofty ambition. After five years of crusading against socialistic bureaucracy, I finally boarded a plane to New York in 1991. I had finally achieved the goal that I had set for myself: I was free, in America, to determine my life's path.

At first I was not certain about what I wanted to do with my future, but in the summer of 1993,my plans solidified. While I was visiting my parents in Kyrgyzstan, a friend of mine suggested that I call the American Embassy and ask for a list of organizations that might need a Russian/English interpreter. After calling a few such organizations, I began working for a group that was considering investing $10 million in the development of tourism in Kyrgyzstan. The group, though geographically diverse, all hailed from English-speaking nations: an ecologist from Australia, a lawyer from the US, and a specialist in handcrafts from England. They shared the common goal of helping the Kyrgyz economy to recover. (After the collapse of the USSR, Kyrgyzstan became an independent country, and a variety of international organizations have taken the opportunity to try to jump-start the new economy.) After a month of working with this group, I knew that I wanted to enter the international business world and help to remodel the socialist economy in my homeland. I enrolled in Moscow State University and graduated in 1996,with a degree in International Trade.

The next crucial step in my career advancement is to earn a Masters Degree in International Business. I am eager to learn the psychology of the American corporate world. In addition, I want to acquire a solid grasp of marketing, with a particular interest in the marketing development of the Eastern European and Central Asian regions. Based on the courses the Robinson College of Business offers, as well as its academic reputation, I believe that it will fulfill my needs perfectly. My short-term professional objectives, therefore, are to gain admission to Robinson and to receive excellent grades while enrolled. I am prepared to engage in a challenging curriculum, made particularly difficult by my situation as a single mother. I will strive to set an example for Gabriel, my seven-year-old son, so that he too will learn to persist in attaining his goals.

A few weeks ago, while reading a Russian newspaper on the Internet, I saw an advertisement for some American fat-burning pills. The English meant something like "Five minutes on your lips, all your life on your hips, " but the Russian translation sounded extremely vulgar. As this amusing advertisement demonstrates, cross-cultural skills are critical to international business, but are often overlooked. My ability to speak Russian fluently and my understanding of Russian, Kyrgyz, and American cultures will help enable me to succeed in the global business economy. I think that my intercultural capabilities will be a major contribution to the Robinson student body, as well as an asset to my future career in international marketing.

Along with my cross-cultural savvy, I also hope to bring to Robinson my previous academic experience in international marketing. My final project in Moscow State University was titled "Marketing of Russian Products & Services Abroad Using Stock Company Volga-Dnepr". I spent six months researching and writing my thesis on Volga-Dnepr, a joint venture of the British company Heavy Lift and the Russian company Volga-Dnepr, and a leader in the Russian cargo transport market. I spent most of my time in the marketing department, observing the creation of a company's portfolio, the company's advertising strategies in the international market, and the company's relationships with Russian and foreign clients. The experience proved absolutely fascinating, and I hope to encounter similarly exciting academic endeavors at Robinson.

After studying international marketing in-depth and graduating from Robinson College of Business, I hope to secure a position with a company that operates in Eastern Europe, CIS, or an ex-Soviet republic. My long-term professional objective is to find a job that fully utilizes my unique educational and cultural background. My ideal job would be with a marketing department--I would like to be involved in promoting new products and enhancing the image of current ones. Furthermore, I am interested in conducting marketing research, and building new relationships between American and Russian companies. I might also enjoy working for an international company here in the States, or perhaps in a company like USAID. Eventually, regardless of what career path I choose after earning my Robinson degree, I would like to return to Russia and teach Russian/Kyrgyz companies the key principles of international marketing. I know that I may be aiming high with my career objectives right now, but I have learned from my life thus far that I am capable of achieving my dreams if I set my mind to it. As Henry David Thoreau wrote, "In the long run, men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, they had better aim at something high."

點評：

整篇文章內容緊湊，閱讀起來很有條理性。并沒有用什么華麗復雜的詞匯，但是卻從平實的語句中透露出作者的不平凡的理想。作者來自東歐的一個小國，高中的時候就萌生了去美國的愿望并在91實現。在一次回國探親的偶然機會下，通過工作發現只有把外國先進的經商理念帶進自己的國家才有可能使自己的祖國經濟有所復蘇，并萌生了學商的想法并付諸于行動。文章中作者也表露出自己對羅賓遜商學院的感冒，及從這里畢業后能夠使自己達到什么樣的目標。

作者還提到了自己是一個單身媽媽，要以身作則，為自己7歲的兒子做榜樣。雖然只是一句帶過，但是卻讓讀的人覺得作者很了不起。單身媽媽已經很不容易了，還有有這么遠大的理想，而且并不是紙上談兵，而是都付諸于行動。作者去美國讀書的目標并不是單純的從自己利益出發，而是考慮到在美國學到的東西可以給她及她的國家帶來什么樣的回報。

文章不算很長，卻能讓人印象深刻；故事也不算很精彩，但卻讓人回味無窮。

譯文：

十四年前,我決定了我要住在美國, 一個無論我選擇任何職業道路都可以成功的地方。作為一名蘇維埃吉爾吉斯斯坦共和國里的高中學生，這是一個雄心壯志。經過5年的征討反社會主義官僚運動，我終于在1991登上了前往紐約的飛機。我終于實現了我給自己定目標：我是自由的，在美國，去確定我人生的道路。

起初我不知道我將來想要做什么，但在1993年夏天，我堅定了我的計劃。當我回吉爾吉斯斯坦看望我的父母時，在一位朋友的建議下我打電話給美國大使館，要求提供一個有所有可能需要俄英翻譯的公司名單。打了幾通電話后，我開始為一個計劃在吉爾吉斯斯坦旅游業發展上面投資一千萬美金的組織工作。在這個組織里，每個人都來自不同的地方，但都是英語系國家：一個澳大利亞的生態學家，一個來自美國的律師， 還有來自英格蘭手工藝專家。他們都有一個共同的目標就是幫助復蘇吉爾吉斯斯坦經濟。（蘇聯瓦解后，吉爾吉斯斯坦成為一個獨立國家，許多的國際企業趁機進入這個剛剛啟動的新經濟。）在這里工作了一個月后，我意識到我想進入國際商業世界，并幫助改造我祖國的社會主義經濟。我進入了莫斯科國立大學攻讀國際貿易，并于1996年畢業。

我未來仕途的下一個關鍵一步是去攻讀碩士國際商務。我渴望學習美國企業世界的心理。除此之外，我希望學到扎實的營銷知識，尤其是東歐和中亞地區的營銷發展。從羅賓遜商學院的課程設置以及其學術聲譽上來看，我相信它將完全符合我的需要。因此，我的短期職業目標是進入羅賓遜并以優良成績去報名。我準備參與一個具有挑戰性的課程，使我的情況像作為一個單親媽媽那樣特別困難。我將努力以身作則，讓我7歲的兒子加布里埃爾也學會堅持實現自己的學習目標。

幾周前，我在網上看俄羅斯新聞的時候，看到了一篇關于美國燃燒脂肪藥片的廣告。英文的意思大概是"你只需要動動嘴5分鐘，你的人生就會在你的臀部上表現出來。" 但用俄語翻譯過來卻極為庸俗。正如這個有趣的廣告所表現的，跨文化的技能對國際商業是至關重要的，但卻往往被忽略了。我能講流利的俄語和我對俄羅斯、吉爾吉斯斯坦、美國文化的了解將幫助我全球商業經濟里成功。我覺得我的跨文化能力將會成為羅賓遜學生團體乃至我在國際市場的未來事業一個的重大貢獻。

除了我跨文化的悟性，我也希望把我以前對國際營銷學術經驗帶進羅賓遜。我在莫斯科國立大學最后參與的項目名為"通過上市公司Volga-Dnepr的俄羅斯產品及服務的海外營銷"。我花了6個月的去研究和進行對Volga-Dnepr，一個由英國公司Heavy Lift與俄羅斯公司Volga-Dnepr的合資公司，及俄羅斯貨運市場領導者的論文寫作。我花費了大量的時間在營銷部門，觀察公司的有價證券是如何創立的，該公司在國際市場上的廣告策略，及該公司與國內外客戶的關系。經驗告訴我那是絕對的精彩，希望在羅賓遜也能遇到同樣精彩學術機會。

通過對國際營銷的深入學習及畢業于羅賓遜商學院，我希望能夠在一個東歐、獨聯體、或者前蘇聯共和國的公司里工作。我的長期職業目標是要找一個能夠充分利用我獨特的教育及文化背景的工作。我的理想工作會是在市場部門—我喜歡參與新產品的推廣及形象提升。另外，我還有意從事于市場研究、建立美俄兩國公司的新關系。我也會喜歡在美國的國際公司里工作，或許在類似USAID這樣的公司里。最終，不管我從羅賓遜畢業后會選擇什么樣的職業道路，我都希望回到俄羅斯，把國際營銷的關鍵理念傳遞給俄羅斯/吉爾吉斯斯坦的公司。我知道我現在可能把我的職業目標定位的太高，但我從我的生活中學會了只要下定決心，就一定可以實現我的夢想。正如亨利.大衛 梭羅寫道:"從長遠來看，人們只會擊中他們所瞄準的。因此，他們最好瞄的高一些。"