Aruzhan Ibekenova
I was born and raised in Almaty, Kazakhstan. I attended National Physics and Mathematics School and then decided to continue my studies at Nazarbayev University. I was sure that I would continue studying in STEM at NU, but after the Social Sciences course during a Foundation Year, I chose to major in PoliSci.
I have never regarded myself as an artsy person and genuinely thought that writing was not for me. However, I registered for the Creative Writing course because it seemed refreshing, compared to the countless academic essays I had to write for other classes. Additionally, I knew professor Dupuy and was sure the course would be interesting.
I discovered that writing is fascinating, and it helps to sort out your thoughts. After scrutinizing theory, I have written my first ever story. There was a lot of room for development, but I was surprised with myself. I decided to keep working on my stories and submit them to various journals.