I am truly honored to have received the Samuel and Selma Bruss Endowed Scholarship from Brandeis University and, on behalf of students like me, I would like to express my most sincere appreciation for your generosity and commitment to education. I would also like share some of my life experiences as a means of demonstrating how your contribution can have a meaningful, even pivotal impact on the life of a Brandeis student.

My sister and I were born in the small town of Chernoviz in the former Soviet Union. Our parents and grandparents dreamed of giving us the opportunities they never had. My mother was a renowned violinist and my father had been general manager of a metal factory. However, because of rampant anti-Semitism, our family had always been ostracized and our success restricted.

My entire family immigrated to New York City, arriving in a new country with two suitcases and a violin. My parents, despite all their master’s degrees, could barely afford to feed our family. Growing up I watched my parents and grandparents work tirelessly in menial jobs to pay our rent, yet every evening they would come home with huge smiles on their faces. I remember asking my parents why they always looked so happy despite losing everything they had, and my mother would answer, “You won’t understand this now, but my heart is filled with gratitude and excitement knowing you and your sister have every opportunity to live successful lives.” I finally understood this during my freshman year at Brooklyn Technical High School, a specialized magnet school. Ever since, I have been hungry to take advantage of every opportunity available to me. Although financing college seemed an impossible dream, I was extremely fortunate to receive a scholarship to attend Brandeis.

At Brandeis I have pursued an interdisciplinary course load – majors in biology and history, and minors in business and chemistry. I also play on the ice hockey team, belong to the ballroom dance club, and even founded an economics and investment journal for students and professors to share ideas. Most importantly, during my studies at Brandeis and my internships at several financial institutions, I have discovered my passion for financial management. My proudest accomplishment came recently when I accepted an offer from Citigroup to join their Sales and Trading Analyst Program in July.

Now a senior at Brandeis, I look back at my accomplishments with pride and the understanding that none of this could have been possible without the courage of my parents and the generous assistance of Brandeis donors.

With my deepest appreciation,

Mikhail Keyserman ’08