Educated Women of the Week - Volha Liudvikouskaya

Volha Liudvikouskaya
Business Woman, Business Student
Senior at Utah Valley University

Briefly tell us about your academic/professional life:
I am majoring in Business Management with an emphasis in International Business and with a minor in Digital Media Product Management and Russian studies. In addition to regular course work, I am a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, Golden Key International Honor Society, and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society at UVU. I also enjoy learning languages, and I currently know three: Russian, Belarusian, and English.

I am also very interested in UVU’s Business Study abroad program in Scotland, and I am considering applying for it. The program would allow me to pursue two of my passions: gaining Business experience and exploring Europe. I would love to better understand business principals and decisions that were influenced by historical events, as well as gain cultural exposure. It will also help me to build my resume and expand my business networking.

I have also been maintaining employment while attending classes. I work for Morinda, Inc., a multi-level marketing company, as a product Pricing Specialist. Morinda markets products made from the Noni plant. I work closely with local departments and international office staff to ensure products are available for sale as scheduled. Particularly I work with countries in Europe as well as Japan, Bolivia, Paraguay, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and United Arab Emirates. At work, I have gained an intimate knowledge of our company’s pricing strategy and calculating costs of manufactured goods. I love working for Morinda. I’m gaining invaluable experience and learning there every day. Morinda has been a great place to grow my career. I am grateful that I work for a company that promotes living a healthy lifestyle. I love what Morinda has done and keeps doing!

Briefly tell us about your life outside of School/Work:
I came to the United States from the post-Soviet nation of Belarus about seven years ago. I have two native languages, Russian and Belarusian (closely related to Russian and Ukrainian). I studied English in grade school and acquired proficiency through immersion. I enjoy hiking, especially in national parks, and have recently taken up recreational running. I have even participated in several five-kilometer races. I also love traveling and learning about other cultures and ways of life. I have traveled primarily in Europe and lived two years in Russia before coming to the US. My experiences abroad and multi-cultural back will help me if I decide to travel for business in the future.

I am also very passionate about community engagement and I like volunteering. I volunteered at Provo’s Independence Day celebration, Stadium of Fire, helped a non-profit organization “the Soul Food USA”, volunteered at the Orem Summerfest (I represented UVU at the parade), and I also represented the company I work for at the Ragnar Relay Series. I like spending my free time helping non-profit organizations, and I feel better when I am involved.  I serve in my church community. I also served as a volunteer missionary for my church where I regularly spent more than 80 hours a week offering community service and sharing my faith.

Are there major obstacles still limiting your achievement? What are they, and what could be done about them?
I came to the United States from another country not knowing English well and starting almost from scratch. I was full of self-doubt and afraid to say a word. I began to take classes at UVU and I improve my language skills. The task broadening my knowledge of English and gaining education still remains a major challenge. Still, the determination to overcome these obstacles motivates me to work harder and learn something new daily, just as it did when I first immigrated. I challenge myself every day to do better and learn from mistakes and failures to become stronger.

How have your career passions changed over the course of your career, and how have you managed transitions?
In the course of my undergraduate work, I switched my major from Digital Media to Business Management. I realized that Business Management would help me to express my nature and my personality better. I realized that I will fill my time and life with new experiences that might help me to find my real inspiration. Digital media product management is now my minor, and it gave me a good foundation for my new major. I am still developing the skills necessary to succeed. Change might be challenging, but it enables the development of good transition skills. Sometimes one must take the risk and follow his or her passion.

I know that I will be handling job changes in the future, because as any woman I want to become a great mother for my kids and a great wife for my husband. It will be an incredible change in my life, but I think I am ready for that. I know that I will be able to get back to my career easily. The foundation that I already have and my education that I am pursuing at the UVU will benefit me. Women should not be afraid of such transitions. They should not sacrifice family for career or education and vice versa.

Are there any books or other resources that have particularly helped you reach this level of awesomeness?
I enjoyed reading The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. This book was specifically designed to help the reader to reach financial goals and to understand the secrets that can help find the road that leads to happiness and prosperity. I learned three main steps to apply these financial principals in life: to acquire money, to save money, and to make the surpluses earn more money and achieve financial independence and security. This book is a real cure for poverty. It will help anyone who has seriously decided to become rich and to glimpse into the essence of financial problems and to achieve real success.