Meet Anastassiya, an admissions counselor at CUNY with a vein for storytelling

She is one of the performers in Finding a Job in America – A Night of Comedy and Horror, an event on December 4th that will feature stories about the funny, challenging, and insightful experiences of immigrant women in their journey to find meaningful employment in New York City

Written by Maria Pyaterneva

Lower Manhattan, on a dark and cold November evening. Business people leave their offices in a rush. Anastassiya, a facilitator for LEAD, New Women New Yorkers (NWNY) workforce development program, is sitting in front of me in a beautiful deep dark green fur coat. She just finished facilitating her second workshop. I was there as a participant. During the workshop, we discussed public speaking and skills for improving self-presentation.  Anastassiya is really good at speaking to an audience and it is definitely worth taking the time to learn from her. A natural performer, she is preparing to show off her talents in Finding a Job in America – A Night of Comedy and Horror, an event on December 4th that will feature stories about the funny, challenging, and insightful experiences and cultural missteps of immigrant women in their journey to find meaningful employment in New York City. Get your ticket here, before it’s too late.

Hi Anastassiya. Thank you so much for talking to us. What country are you from? When did you move to the United States?

My name is Anastassiya Maximenko. I am originally from Kazakhstan. I moved to the United States almost 8.5 years ago. 

So what brought you here?

My story is very interesting because I didn’t plan to move here, I didn’t like this country and I didn’t want to come. It was basically my friend’s idea. We were studying psychology at university together. My friend was in the US for a student summer exchange program called “Work and Travel.” One day, she suggested I join the program and come to the US as well. It was just like that. You know geography, you know that this country exists but you don’t have any expectations about it. You just decide to go somewhere to enjoy life, to have an experience in a new country. I finished my 3rd year of university in my country and came to the US for the summer. 

How was the first experience of getting a job in the US?

I landed in a small town called Ocean City, in the state of Maryland, where I got my job offer from the program. It was a small hotel. My friend and I spoke no English. We started to work as housekeepers. We had to find a second job because one was not enough to cover our bills. One day, our friend was so frustrated trying to find a job that she decided to move to NYC. I liked the idea and came with her. My first job in NYC was at a Wendy’s. Last Halloween, I decided to wear a Wendy’s costume because of my memories.  We spent the rest of the exchange program working and enjoying the city. Time flew by and we had to go back home. I didn’t have any plans to stay—I was still struggling with English, I didn’t like it that much, and my visa was ending. Then my friend got into a car accident. She had to go through surgery and rehabilitation here. We planned to stay for one year to wrap up that situation with lawyers and hospitals and then go back home.

What happened that made you decide to stay permanently? How did your parents react?

We were in our third year at university when we came  to the US. We were two of the best students. Education is the main goal for youngsters in Kazakhstan. And then, according to society rules, you have to marry and have a family, apartment,etc. We didn’t finish university so we decided to apply for a gap year to return to study a year after. My friend’s request was approved, but not mine. I was a really good student for so many years. The university’s decision was devatasting to me.  I had depression for two months. After a year, I had already built a life in New York. I started to feel that I was going to stay. And that’s how I stayed! I was 20 years old. I am from a very small village, but I grew up very independent and went to university in another city. My father traveled during USSR times and was educated. My mom is a simple woman who comes from a super small village and never travelled. When I told them that I was going to stay in the United States, my father, who I thought was going to be more supportive, was so angry. But my mom said, “Yes, go, stay, enjoy, don’t even worry, we are here, everything is good.”

Do you remember your first days in the United States?
I remember my luggage, which was full of canned food from Kazakhstan. Different kashas and greens and so much other stuff. We were scared of going hungry here and wanted to be ready for everything. I remember an African-American guy in Ocean City fluently speaking Russian, which surprised us a lot. He was renting places to students in that town. Basically the whole summer business in that area was built on students from “Work and Travel” programs. When we came to NYC, the first place our driver showed us was Times Square. He was excited that we were new in the city and proudly said, “I am going to show you the real New York.” It was a dark evening, we were sitting in this small van with big windows and were driven through Times Square. You were seeing these huge billboards and pictures, everything screaming at you. We were sitting near the windows and seeing lights everywhere and were trying to find the end of the buildings but they were endless.

What was it like to take a first step in NYC and try to find a job?
In Ocean City it was hard to find jobs. NYC was much easier for us. But when we decided to stay for more than a year we understood that we needed more money to live here. We went to a Russian bartending school to learn how to mix and make cocktails and drinks. Our first job was in a small place, a mix of a pizzeria and a bar. The owner had every drink you can imagine so we had a chance to practice a lot. Little by little, I ended up working in a very fancy and upscale place. My only regret is that I stayed too long in this business. I wish I left the restaurant job earlier and finished college earlier so I could get relevant experience in my field earlier. I still love to serve people, though. I am working right now as an admissions counselor at CUNY and I volunteer as a LEAD program facilitator.

How did you improve your English skills?

I spoke with customers, with my boyfriend. I went to an English school in Brooklyn. I am proud of myself because I never studied English before and I made myself here. It took me four or five years to become truly comfortable with the language. I am still making mistakes but I don’t care anymore. I love joking in English. In one class I was told that if you start to make jokes in a new language that means you got the language. In the first year we didn’t speak English at all. In the second year we tried to improve the language. In the third year I went to college. I was writing and studying in English. But I was afraid of my mistakes and this feeling held me back for a long time. I still had that feeling that I was not competent enough. Now I switched the focus of this issue. English is my second language and I am not ideal at it but at least I speak another language. I am happy with that. 

I love your approach and your way of dealing with the language struggles. Even if you make mistakes, no one cares. That’s true. How did you find out about the LEAD program?

I was just looking for classes in a library. By chance I heard about a LEAD informational session. At that time I already had a job and everything was going fine but I was still really interested in a career development program. I also felt that it could be useful for my future. I have only one experience of looking for a job and I got this job really fast. I didn’t have the experience of looking for a job for a long time and going through many interviews. As an admissions counselor I mostly work with immigrant students, suggesting different programs they can benefit from. So I wanted to go through the LEAD program myself so I would have a clear understanding about the program and promote it to students at CUNY. 

I also joined the LEAD program because of the community. When immigrants move to the United States we may start to avoid our country’s community to improve our English. We sometimes don’t want to be classified as part of those immigrant communities any more. Some immigrants say “I am not Russian” or “I am not this” or “I am not an immigrant.” And I was a part of that idea for a long time. Inside myself I didn’t believe that I was  an immigrant. I thought I needed American friends. I believe now that is kind of stupid. One day I understood this and said to myself, “I want to be a part of that immigrant community.” I want to know the stories of other immigrants. I want to build a community. The LEAD program helped me become a part of this community. I didn’t know that I was an immigrant until my sixth year here. I truly didn’t understand the true meaning of the word “immigrant” and I didn’t recognize myself as an immigrant, but once it hit me, it hit me really hard. And I understood all the struggles that I went through before were because I am an immigrant. And this understanding of my new identity gave me a kind of freeing feeling. That is why probably I don’t care any more about my English and about mistakes. I still make them. Now I know I am an immigrant and because I am an immigrant I have so much more than language to deal with. So who cares?

I love what you just said. Thank you for opening up, Anastassiya. How did you decide to volunteer for  and why?
I wanted to be a part of NWNY because I truly believe in the organization’s mission. Helping others and connecting with others who are immigrants like you are – that’s what LEAD is all about. Another purpose was to get to know the program so I can recommend it to immigrant students. I wanted to be a facilitator for the LEAD program to show others that it is okay to have struggles and that you are really not alone. That’s what happens with immigrants when we come here. We are alone. We don’t have your family or your network. We have a lot in common and we can connect with each other, help each other.

What are you going to do at the December 4 event? Is it going to be a storytelling performance?
Together with eight other immigrant women, I am planning a very interesting piece. We all have stories about looking for a job in the United States. Some stories are funny and some are not. We are combining them together and creating a theatrical performance. It is a mix of sketch, storytelling, theater, and much more. 

That sounds really interesting. We are looking forward to the event! Would you like to share with us a little about your future plans, your dreams, your goals?
I definitely want to continue supporting immigrant communities. This means a lot of different things. I am doing it already in my current job, as an admissions counselor at CUNY. I am counseling a lot of immigrant students at the university. But I want to do it more and I want to reach out to different immigrant communities. The problem with non-profit organizations is that they generally don’t have a connection between each other. I just have this dream to build a strong network among them. I believe this will allow them to help people more effectively. I am also doing a storytelling project called “Awkward teenage years” with my friend. Next February and March, we are going to have five shows. 

What would you say to newcomers? 

Definitely to reach out for help. There are so many organizations, so many classes… Do your research. Google is your best friend. Ask questions, ask your friends. At the same time, please don’t believe the first thing someone tells you. Many immigrants hear that their education from other countries is not valid. It is not true. Just take the information and check it, please. People have so many different experiences and they take different routes. Finally, be open.