GHRM MBA student Zhanna Samodurova bags Outstanding Graduate Student Performance Award of Taiwan Government Scholarship

“You need to understand how many things you can take. Estimate your skills and ability. Don’t take too much, otherwise, you will lose everything.” - These are the words by Zhanna, a GHRM MBA student at National Sun Yat-sen University, who is a recipient of the Outstanding Performances Graduate of Taiwan.

Apart from being an exemplary student, Zhanna from Moscow, Russia, is a Taiwan Government scholar, a member of the Dragon Boat team, president of the International Programs Students Association, and an intern as well. Her amazing credentials will make you wonder how she can balance her academic and extra-curricular life. Want to know her story? Then keep reading.

On selecting her prospect university

Before joining NSYSU College of Management’s GHRM MBA program, Zhanna earned her degree in Materials Engineering in Moscow. But how did she know about NSYSU and GHRM? A few years back, she did an exchange at a university in Hsinchu City. She already had an idea of how beautiful Taiwan is, so she decided to come back to do her master’s degree. But for her, Hsinchu is small and wanted to be in a bigger city. For her, she only has Taipei and Kaohsiung as her choices. She did intensive research on which schools she wanted to do her master’s degree, by checking the requirements, courses offered, environment, pictures, and opinions by the people about the university. Apart from the scenery that NSYSU has, being situated between the seas and the mountains, being one of the top universities in Taiwan is what Zhanna helped her select NSYSU as her prospective university.

On applying for her scholarship

Zhanna applied for the Ministry of Education scholarship in the Taiwan Embassy in Moscow, Russia. She submitted the requirements which included her diploma, English certificate, grades, and other pertinent documents. Having experience as an exchange student in Taiwan and finishing her degree with excellency gave her an advantage in achieving the scholarship. Zhanna mentioned that her scholarship would be revoked if she wouldn’t be able to be accepted in the university. She said she was competing for two competitions, and she was thankful she got accepted in both.

On selecting her degree

As mentioned earlier, Zhanna dwelled in the engineering field on her bachelor’s. She then wanted to change her area from engineering to business as she believes that it will make her area diverse. She also applied for both programs, IB and GHRM. She got accepted to GHRM and she is happy about that. Not about how difficult one program is from the other, but Zhanna realized that the GHRM is the perfect MBA for her. The courses offered in the program are the courses she really wants and what she pictures on an MBA degree. She believes that this degree helped her meet new people, develop her communication skill, and make her build her confidence on stage.

On having an active student life

Apart from quality education, NSYSU has a lot to offer, from sports to clubs and activities. Zhanna, being a dynamic person, also participated in numerous activities. First, she joined the NSYSU Dragon Boat Team. She participated for one year and brought the flag of NSYSU in several competitions. Then she joined the Students Association of International Programs last semester and ran as president. She and her team conducted numerous activities for the students of GHRM and IB and helped the college in several activities. Wanting to serve the student body for another semester, she continued her presidency in this semester. Apart from being the students’ association president, she’s also doing her internship. Zhanna mentioned that internship will be beneficial for her, in her developing her skills and adding essential experiences in her resume. Her professors helped her get the internship and she is exploring how business works in Taiwan.

On school-life balance

On asking Zhanna if she finds it difficult being a graduate student, at the same time, being active in student association and being an intern, she said, “I wouldn’t say so.” For her, the key solution for the lifestyle she has is her organizing skill, which is an HRM concept. It may sound simple, but for her, it helps her so much. According to Zhanna, “You should know what your agenda for the day is, from waking up in the morning until you go to bed.” She’s very happy with this lifestyle and she loves it. She has time to enjoy and meet new people, going out with them, and have fun. Zhanna also mentioned that people who also wanted to have the same lifestyle as to what she has must know what’s adequate and what’s too much. “Learn to refuse if you don’t really want to, and if you won’t be able to finish it on a good level.”, she added. For Zhanna, students must build small and good habits at the beginning, habits that will discipline you, and these habits will affect your future life, whether as a student or as a professional.

“Be organized and be honest to yourself”. One of the most remarkable lines Zhanna left during the interview. Let us congratulate her for bagging a prestigious award for NSYSU! Congratulations!