Nastia Tsultsumova’s vibrant energy and willingness to learn and engage in conversation is one of the first clues that marks her as a well-traveled woman. New to the University of Maine, the 2015 graduate of the College of Saint Elizabeth in Morristown, N.J., will begin her first year at UMaine pursuing her Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree as well as a Master of Science in Information Systems degree.
“I love that there is a dual degree program because I’m interested in business and technology,” Tsultsumova said. “It gives me a great perspective being able to do both.” Tsultsumova comes from a small town in Kalmykia, Russia where she lived prior to moving to New Jersey, where she earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree.
Tsultsumova’s willingness to broaden her horizons by traveling and studying abroad extends into her personal interests. “I love to travel and participate in different kinds of conferences and forums,” Tsultsumova says. Recently, Tsultsumova attended the G(irls)20 Summit, which was held in Beijing, China this past August. G(irls)20 was launched in 2009 at the Clinton Global Initiative, with a mission to place girls and women at the heart of the economic decision making process by promoting the increase in female labor force participation. The program, which is intended for women ages 18-23, mirrors the annual G20 Summit, which is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from the world’s 20 major economies.
Tsultsumova attended the G(irls)20 Summit as a representative for Russia. “I got to meet the Russian Ambassador in China, who is a very high-profile person. It was great.” At the summit, Tsultsumova was able to meet other driven, business-minded young women like herself from all over the world. The G(irls)20 Summit is an extremely competitive conference and Tsultsumova says that being accepted to the program was “a very rewarding experience.”
In addition to traveling to Beijing for the two-week conference, Tsultsumova has traveled to multiple European countries such as Germany, Greece and Denmark. The Russian native also spent a summer working in New York City as an assistant at JPMorgan Chase & Co., which is one of the largest banking institutions in the United States and a leader in global financial services. “It was a good opportunity,” Tsultsumova says. “I didn’t want to leave but I knew I had to get my degree.”
Upon completing her MBA at the University of Maine, Tsultsumova would like to return to New York City and work as an associate for JPMorgan Chase & Co. “As a Russian citizen, we get to work in the U.S. for three years, so after that I can go anywhere — South Asia, Russia or Europe.” Tsultsumova prioritized returning to New York City before making any other international move because “it’s just a good thing for your resume to have some experience in New York. After that you can do anything.”
