Part II. Kovrov

The first year in Kovrov was especially difficult for us because of the adaptation to the urban life and difficulties of my parents in getting any job. My mother and I went to Kovrov State Technological Academy (KSTA), the only university in the city, to find out what programs it had and if there was a chance for me to study there for free. After reviewing my high school diploma and the grades for the Unified State Examination, the administration said that I was very likely to be accepted to any of their technical programs and study free of charge. Those were good news in addition to the fact that the Academy was within walking distance of our apartment. We reviewed the list of available programs, but nothing seemed to be interesting or even familiar. However, I had no other options. I decided to apply for the “Hydraulic Machines, Hydraulic Actuators, and Hydraulic and Pneumatic Control Systems” specialist degree program (equivalent of a bachelor's + master's degree) and figure things out along the way.

At KSTA, I found STEM disciplines interesting because they all studied natural processes using mathematics. I loved their logic, specifics, precision, and an elegant simplification of the complex real world. My physics professor O.V. Martynov and my mathematics professor V. S. Leontyeva often took time to share their knowledge with me outside the classroom. That allowed me to learn more than what was offered within the curriculum which in turn sparked my interest further.

In addition to my classes, I took advantage of available research opportunities in different departments of the Academy. Thus, I studied audio signal processing, parallel shaft speed reducer units, free-wheel inertial gear mechanisms, electricity supply in megacities and transformation of orthogonal projections of planes intersecting solids (see Research section for details). That was a fascinating period of my student years which also provided me with a great exercise on time management.

I shared the projects' results with faculty and other students at KSTA Student Research-to-Practice Conferences. In 2011, based on the results of my presentations, I was awarded “Smartest Student of Kovrov State Technological Academy named after V.A. Degtyarev”. In the same year, I was also awarded "The Hope of the Vladimir Land" scholarship in the category “Young Researcher in the Field of Technical Sciences” by the region administration.

At KSTA, I was also involved into the Russian Student Brigades movement (see Student Brigades section for details) which had a long history in our country. The idea of the movement was that students from the same or different universities formed brigades or teams to live and work together on construction projects in summer to earn money. In 2009, there was only a male student construction brigade at the Academy. I was curious about the movement and joined a female team in Yekaterinburg. I found brigades to be much more than just an opportunity to earn money and I wanted to share my experience with other girls in Kovrov. Thus, by the third year of my education, I established the first female student construction brigade at KSTA. 

I was awarded Letters of Appreciation by KSTA and the Vladimir region administration for the development of the Russian Student Brigades movement and high results in our working process. 

While my student life in Kovrov was quite bright and interesting, I felt that I was not going the right way. Thus, in Spring 2011, on the advice of my physics professor O.V. Martynov, I decided to try to transfer to National Research Nuclear University “MEPhI” known as one of the best Russian technical schools to study mathematics in greater detail, nuclear physics, and nuclear reactors.