A Conversation with Minerva Student Alina

Meet Alina, a student in the Class of 2023.

Quick Facts

Name
Alina Kolpakova

Hometown
Kremenchuk, Ukraine

Class
2023

Major
Business

Conversation

Why did you choose to attend Minerva?
A meaningful community is extremely important to me. From the first glance at the website and after talking with some upperclassmen, I knew right away Minerva was where I could feel the most comfortable and supported. Compared to traditional Ukrainian universities, it was obvious that Minerva would be a tougher path both academically and culturally for me, but I believed that the community’s support would help me push through the troubles — and it has!

What do you like about Minerva academics?
I appreciate how our learning environment provides a lot of healthy feedback. Because everyone is eager to learn, we all understand that constructive feedback from both our classmates and the teacher is very important. The classes are designed so that students receive constant feedback on their work in order to improve.

What do you aspire to do when you graduate? What is a problem you would like to address in the world?
I aspire to be a part of social business in my home country of Ukraine. The knowledge I am getting at Minerva will play a crucial part in my hopes to create a sustainable business model that will balance between capital creation and helping out the community.

Have you participated in a co-curricular that has changed how you think about the world? If so, what co-curricular was it and how did it challenge your thinking?
My favorite co-curricular was the “Park-ing Day” in San Francisco! We met with a local architect on a rooftop garden who shared the current struggles in building San Francisco’s future and creating multi-purpose public and private spaces. After the talk, we divided into teams and created a mini-park that had to fit in a parking spot in the Financial District. We rolled out fake grass, put up chairs, and designed activities for pedestrians. This event showed me the immense need to reclaim public places and how to turn them back to useful areas for the community in a fun way!

Tell us about a collaboration with a Civic Partner that you are proud of.
During my first year, I was part of a civic project with Micro-documentaries, a San Francisco-based filmmaking company that was in the process of creating a series about indigenous wisdom. Our task was to create an outline for their promotional campaign. This collaboration made me proud because I could immediately feel the impact of my work on the community I was living in. It was amazing to know that I was a tiny part of this project because their documentary has the potential to change the way humans perceive and treat the planet.

What would you tell another student who is considering Minerva?
This could be the toughest decision in your life so far — it definitely was for me. I encourage you to reach out to current Minerva students, to go over the academic information on the website, and to look at our Instagram. Everything you find there is candid and informational. Email us and ask tough questions — this is your future and you should be certain this is the right choice for you. Minerva is unique, the people here are kind, and the academics are challenging but if the pros outweigh the cons, you should take the risk!