As a 15-year-old from Moscow stepped off a train in Leysin in the summer of 1993, armed with a few years of tutored English and a great deal of uncertainty, Alexei couldn't have imagined how profoundly the next three years would shape the rest of his life.

He learned about LAS through a family connection, first joining the Summer in Switzerland program before enrolling for the academic year. He was among the earliest Russian students at LAS, part of what he laughingly calls "the second Russian batch," arriving shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union opened new doors for young Russians seeking international education.

"Besides the language barrier, I was experiencing the culture shock of leaving Russia to live in Switzerland and be on my own for the first time," he recalls. However, the warmth of the LAS community quickly made Alexei feel at home.  "From the very beginning, LAS faculty and fellow students showed me tremendous care and genuine feelings of belonging to a new extended family." 

His connection to LAS deepened with each year on the mountain. He performed in the school musical Grease, explored Europe on cultural trips, hiked and skied the Alps, and received his first German lesson from a young Marc Ott, then just beginning his career as an educator. He also fondly recalls teacher Fred Sharp: "Incredibly intelligent and such a positive influence." He still has the Swiss Army knife that his faculty family gave him during sophomore year.

Choosing What Came Next

Alexei's university research looked very different in the mid-1990s. Rather than browsing websites, he sat in a library watching VHS promotional tapes from American universities. One, from American University in Washington, DC, stood out. He estimates it took around six months to fully adapt to American life. "LAS had prepared me exceptionally well, but there was still an adjustment." He studied Business Administration with a concentration in International Marketing, graduating in 2000.

Dot-Com Boom, and a New Chapter

He graduated directly into the dot-com boom, joining a technology company that survived only about a year after the bubble burst, a formative lesson in the volatility of emerging industries. During this period he met his future wife, an American, and the two later married in the United States. Before starting a family, the couple decided they wanted to see more of the world first. In 2004 he enrolled in an MBA program in Sydney. "We planned to return to the US," he says, "but we fell in love with Australia and never left."

A Career Built Across Borders

His professional life has been shaped by the same international outlook LAS instilled in him. He built a career in payments, customer experience, and financial technology, eventually joining a company later acquired by Mastercard, where he has spent 12 years in a senior leadership role focused on Customer Experience Design across the Asia-Pacific region.

Life in Australia

Today he lives in Sydney with his family, in a country he describes as full of beautiful contradictions: remote yet familiar, stunning in nature yet unhurried in spirit. "What I enjoy most is the warmth and optimism of the people, and a way of living that genuinely cares for people and the environment." His extended family now spans three continents, Australia, the United States, and Moscow.

Coming Home to the Mountain

He hasn't been back to LAS since 1996, nor to Europe since 2003, but this December, he plans to return to Leysin for the first time in nearly three decades, with his family in tow. "I only truly appreciated Switzerland after leaving it," he reflects. "I'm excited to finally show my family the place that played such an important role in my life."

Alexei credits recent alumni outreach with sparking his reconnection to LAS, the place where his international mindset, his friendships around the world, and his sense of shared humanity across cultures were first fostered. "LAS came at a perfect intersection of personal growth and global change," he says. "I will always be grateful for that."