VZCZCXRO7574
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #0106/01 0220914
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220914Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0114
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1090
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 3275
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0961
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1530
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 2131

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000106 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD, EUR/ACE, ECA, DRL, CA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM SCUL SOCI CVIS TX
SUBJECT:  TURKMENISTAN:  WHY THERE'S HOPE:  INDPENDENT STUDENTS IN 
THE UNITED STATES 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2.  (U) SUMMARY: In December and January, Embassy Ashgabat's 
Consular Section interviewed dozens of students studying in the 
United States but not on U.S. government programs who had returned 
to Turkmenistan for the holidays but planned to return to the United 
States spring semester.  Most of these students began their studies 
in the United States at the end of the Niyazov era, during the 
darkest days for education in Turkmenistan.  They vary in background 
and field of study, but all share a history of resourcefulness in 
overcoming challenges, and all expressed optimism for Turkmenistan's 
future.  In contrast to students interviewed at the end of the 
Niyazov era, these students genuinely see a place for themselves in 
their country, where they will be able to use their education and 
make a difference.  We share their hopes for their success.  (NOTE: 
We have omitted names to protect the students' privacy.  END NOTE.) 
END SUMMARY. 
 
THE FIRST TURKMEN STUDENT AT MIT- "BUT NOT THE LAST" 
 
¶3. (SBU) A junior at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is 
majoring in chemistry.  Originally from Turkmenabat in Lebap 
province, his family now lives in Ashgabat.  He wants to return to 
Turkmenistan to work in the oil and gas sector, which he believes 
will expand when Western energy companies come to Turkmenistan.  He 
was not a FLEX participant.  Instead, he learned English from 
various Peace Corps Volunteer teachers before going to the United 
States to study intensive English.  No one in his family speaks 
English or has traveled to the United States.  His trajectory to MIT 
is all the more impressive given that it was entirely self-directed. 
 When asked about his experience in such a challenging program, he 
said that he studies constantly to keep up with the "curve breaking" 
foreign students in his classes.  He noted that he was the first 
Turkmen student at MIT, but he hoped that one day Turkmen students 
would be as commonplace there as his Indian and Chinese classmates. 
 
"NO ONE HERE IS DOING THIS KIND OF WORK" 
 
¶4. (SBU) A student from Ashgabat is completing her PhD in geography 
at the University of Arizona, having earned a master's degree in 
environmental studies at Ohio State University.  A former exchange 
visitor who worked at the Ministry of Nature Protection, she has 
always planned to return to Turkmenistan to work in her field.  She 
chose the University of Arizona, she said, because Arizona's 
ecosystem was similar to Turkmenistan's, particularly the Caspian 
Rim area that is the focus of her research.  She is enthusiastic 
about her role as a cross-cultural ambassador.  She proudly noted 
that she had returned for several summers to Turkmenistan to give 
recruitment talks for Ohio State.  She added, "Now I will help 
recruit for the University of Arizona."  She believes that private 
sector funding for environmental work in the United States could be 
a model for Turkmenistan - especially if foreign energy companies 
move in - allowing for sustainability research and programs.  She is 
eager to bring her expertise back to Turkmenistan, because "no one 
in Turkmenistan is doing this kind of work." 
 
FUTURE POWER COUPLE? 
 
¶5. (SBU) A young woman originally from Turkmenabat and her husband, 
a native of Balkan province, met as graduate students at Eastern 
Illinois University, where she received a master's degree in 
economics and he received a master's degree in political science. 
While he has stayed on at Eastern Illinois to complete his PhD, she 
accepted an assistantship at the University of Northern Iowa, where 
she is pursuing a PhD in public policy.  Although both completed 
their undergraduate degrees at the International Turkmen-Turkish 
University in Ashgabat, they did not become friends until they 
studied together in the United States.  Both are enthusiastic about 
the possibility of returning to teach or finding a position in the 
government - opportunities that would be open to them now that the 
government of Turkmenistan has announced it will once again 
recognize foreign degrees. 
 
ASHGABAT 00000106  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
ALL IN THE FAMILY 
 
¶6. (SBU) One family in Ashgabat is not politically well-connected or 
extremely wealthy.  The parents are actors at the Turkmen State 
Theater.  Despite the odds, three of the five children in the family 
are studying in the United States.  All three have followed a 
pattern typical to many Turkmen students by beginning their studies 
at Houston Community College (HCC) before transferring into 
undergraduate degree programs.  The twin sisters are both alumnae of 
the FLEX program, although in different program years.  They are 
completing their studies at HCC and will transfer into bachelor's 
programs next year.  Their eldest brother followed his younger 
sisters to the United States.  He received his bachelor's degree 
from Northern Illinois University, where he is currently enrolled as 
a master's degree student. 
 
THE LONG ROAD TO A PHD IN EDUCATION 
 
¶7.  (SBU) With the recent announcement that the government of 
Turkmenistan wants to reopen graduate study programs at state 
universities, one female student could be in a great position to 
help shape the future of education in Turkmenistan.  Currently a PhD 
student in Education at the University of Missouri, she is focusing 
on curriculum development in mathematics and related subjects.  Her 
experience highlights the improvement in prospects for ambitious 
young Turkmen.  After graduating with a bachelor's degree in 
economics from Turkmen State University, the best job she could find 
was working in the sales department at the Grand Turkmen Hotel. 
After working there for nearly two years, she was accepted into a 
master's degree program at Central Michigan University.  The 
prospect of returning to work in Turkmenistan was less certain when 
she began her studies. However, things have changed so much that she 
expects, by the time she finishes her program in 2009, to return 
home to a different Turkmenistan than the one she left. 
 
¶8. (SBU) COMMENT:  If these students are indicative of the Turkmen 
students studying abroad, especially in the West, they will be an 
important source of new talent to advance the changes under way in 
their country.  They will be more qualified to compete in the global 
economy than their countrymen who did not study abroad and, we hope, 
ambassadors for even better relations between our two countries. 
END COMMENT. 
 
HOAGLAND