Zhamshidbek (Zham) Khalilov is an international graduate student studying finance at the UMKC Bloch School.
He works for the university as a tutor. In his free time, you can find him winning table tennis, going out with friends and telling politically incorrect jokes.
Between being born in Kyrgyzstan and studying in Poland, Khalilov has lived in and visited a multitude of countries.
“Traveling is the best education,” he said. “Don’t limit yourself with Mexico. I’ve heard people [here] just go to Cancun, and that’s it. Go to different places like Africa, Asia, and Europe.”
For people coming from Europe, a common complaint about the United States is the lack of public transportation options. Khalilov’s sentiments were no exception.
“It’s the worst. Oh my God. You guys are not even trying, you know,” Khalilov said. “You thought you did something with this streetcar? Not even close.”
Khalilov shared some culture shocks like incessant sports commentary, gun violence/shootings in KC, junk food and billboards everywhere.
Another area he feels Americans fall short in is primary and secondary education. During his exchange year in South Dakota, he noticed quite a few differences from his home country’s schools.
“How many people here do you think can point out Kyrgyzstan on the map?” Khalilov asked. “Zero. That’s not the case in my country. If you ask someone to point out a country, they will show you where it is, or at least know what area it’s in.”
Despite his feelings about high school here, he actually found that the higher education system in the US is both desirable and rewarding.
“Here, you can have open conversations, and discussions with your professors and students in the class,” Khalilov said.
Khalilov hopes to work at a huge investment bank and travel as much as possible, particularly to places he hasn’t been yet, like the middle east.
The graduate student plans to eventually leave America and expressed that he will miss the broad array of people.
“There are a lot of different nationalities, ethnicities, mixed races…everything is here, and everyone is coming here,” Khalilov said. “It’s like the center of the world.”
