Nastasia Mikhailova ’28 & Andrii Varlamov ’27

By age 17, Nastasia “Asya” Mikhailova had already worked as a video editor and Pilates instructor in Thailand. But the Russian native wanted more than work experience. She wanted hands-on learning that would translate that experience into credentials and career opportunities.

"American education is very practical compared to a lot of countries," she said. "It's so hands-on."

That's why Mikhailova, now a 20-year-old sophomore accounting and business management major at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, turned her focus to the United States. “I wanted to go for a business major because I wanted to create an impact and build something for society, but I need the skills and knowledge to organize it,” she said.

At Pitt-Bradford, she has found exactly what she was looking for: a Pitt degree with small-campus advantages, hands-on business development training, and opportunities to turn her entrepreneurial ideas into reality.

She's already putting those opportunities to work. A certified Pilates instructor, Mikhailova founded a campus Pilates Club that now has more than 90 members. She's also starting a Business Club with fellow students, serving as president of both organizations. Working beside her as treasurer is her boyfriend, Andrii Varlamov, a computer information systems and technology student from Kyiv, Ukraine, whom she met in Thailand where his family fled from the war with Russia.

The war has created awkward relations between their families. "Hopefully that is going to change after the war," she said. "We try to separate the nationality from personality."

Both have also become Watson Institute Halloran Fellows, a unique Pitt-Bradford program Mikhailova describes as a "Business Development 101 Course" alongside community entrepreneurs. "For me, it's about getting active feedback and networking from the Halloran Fellow mentors," she said. She plans to tap those mentors, including adjunct professor and serial entrepreneur Jeremy Callinan, to teach Business Club members about event planning, budgets, finance and networking.

Additionally, both are non-federal student workers in the Harry R. Halloran Jr./American Refining Group makerspace on campus, helping students turn ideas into reality with tools ranging from T-shirt presses to 3D printers and vacuum formers. The income has become essential this year after unexpected hardships: a Russian drone strike destroyed Varlamov's family factory in Kyiv, while Mikhailova's father fell ill with malaria. Though both receive merit scholarships for international students covering room and board, their makerspace earnings help pay for daily expenses.

Mikhailova's path from Russia to Thailand began with a family vacation when she was four years old. A fair-skinned child with allergies, her health improved dramatically in Thailand. Her mother found work as a wedding photographer, while her father, Alex, an engineer who taught himself web design and 3D animation, began creating YouTube videos that teenage Asya would star in and eventually help edit. These "magic" videos depicting disappearing body parts and drawings coming to life earned millions of views and launched her video editing career.

When it became time to look at colleges, Mikhailova wanted to study abroad for added credibility. "If you have an American degree, it's valued everywhere," she said. She chose Pitt-Bradford because it offered a prestigious Pitt degree at a small school that felt comfortable.

"I grew up on an island," she said. "I would probably be very scared in a big city. I really enjoy the small classes and getting to know the professors right away. I can ask questions."

She's constantly finding new opportunities. She started the Business Club after learning that the Student Government Association provides funding for student field trips. "I want to go to business conferences around the state to network and learn," she said.

Meanwhile, she's building a succession plan for the Pilates Club, which she founded to stay active and introduce others to the practice. "I just love it," she said. "It's something that helps me a lot mentally and physically." She's proud that members have made friends through the club, something increasingly difficult for today's students in a digital world.

She hopes to mentor active members to lead the club after she graduates by applying the same hands-on, practical approach to leadership development that first drew her to American education and to Pitt-Bradford. Just another sign that Asya Mikhailova is always looking ahead.

--30--