By 
Moving away from everyone and everything you know is one of the hardest decisions a person can make. For Asiie Abliatipova, moving to a new location is nothing new for her.
Abliatipova is a junior here at Carroll working on her international relations degree. She hopes one day she can return home to Ukraine to make a difference and help her people, the Crimean Tatars.
“I miss my grandparents so much. I miss our backyard,” Abliatipova said. “In our backyard, there were many walls made of grape leaves that were a very prime memory for me. We would drink coffee or tea under the sky.”
Abliatipova and her younger brother Emin lived in Yevpatoriya and then Mykolaiv with her mom, Selime, and dad, Akhtemivna. They eventually moved to a new house in Eastern Europe because of the war.
“My parents wanted the best for me. Some people say the war will last for 10 years, and some people say the war will last for five years or two years,” Abliatipova said. “I think to get a good education, you have to go to another country, unfortunately.”
To start her education, she was primarily studying in an online program. Before coming to Carroll this semester, she enrolled in a college in the United Kingdom. Wanting more of a college experience, she decided to enroll at Carroll.
Abliatipova enjoys living with her host family and describes everyone here in Helena as kind and very educated.
When Abliatipova has free time, she enjoys reading books, calling her friends and family back home, and traveling. She is looking forward to the springtime here in Montana so she can partake in outdoor activities. She specifically looks forward to visiting some ghost towns.
“I’ve changed my life completely. I live here without my parents and my friends in another continent and another country,” Abliatipova said. “That’s an advantage of being a 19-year-old – you can see an opportunity and just take it.”
