Max Poklonskii marked six years as a U.S. resident in spectacular fashion: by receiving the University of Washington Bothell’s 2024 President’s Medal.
The award recognizes students who earn a GPA in the top two percent of their graduating class and further distinguish themselves with extracurricular activities, awards, research or future plans.
“It was surreal,” said Poklonskii of the moment that UW President Ana Mari Cauce placed the medal over his neck at the June Commencement Ceremony. Now the award rests in a place of honor, draped over his bedpost.
“It’s the first thing I see every morning,” said the School of Business alumnus.
A native of Kazakhstan, Poklonskii first moved with his family to Russia and then spent time in Germany before coming to the United States in 2018. That’s four different countries for Poklonskii by age 22.
And thanks to the many sacrifices his parents made to get him and his younger sister to the U.S., Poklonskii said, he has been able to pursue his passion for learning.
Seizing every opportunity
By the time he earned his diploma from Henry M. Jackson High School in Mill Creek, Washington, Poklonskii had also obtained his associate degree in business through the state’s Running Start program. “It’s terrific — free education,” he said. “Why not take advantage of it?”
His pragmatic, go-for-it approach continued at UW Bothell, where he seized every opportunity that came his way. As a Business Administration major specializing in the Accounting option and the Finance concentration, Poklonskii participated in about 10 national student leadership conferences and received seven different scholarships.
“These weren’t just financial assistance,” said Poklonskii. “They were lifelines.”
He also landed four internships, including two at accounting firms Moss Adams and Ernst & Young. The first, he recalled, came from a connection he made at a networking event hosted by Beta Alpha Psi, an international honor society for accounting, finance and information systems students.
Poklonskii went on to serve as the president of UW Bothell’s Beta Alpha Psi chapter, which he credits with dramatically expanding his circle of contacts. In the society’s 2023 Las Vegas leadership conference, he rubbed shoulders with high-level executives and worked with other students from across the country. Commiserating with his new peers about academic challenges, he realized, “These are not just my problems. It’s very reassuring to know we’re all fighting the same battles.”
Locking down and stepping up
Even the COVID-19 lockdown and a job layoff couldn’t slow Poklonskii’s pace. “I had so much time on my hands,” he said of the period. “I thought I might as well do something productive.”
He reflected on his passion for education and an idea came: He could become a tutor instead of a learner. He posted notices on Facebook Marketplace and, soon enough, found himself tutoring elementary and middle-school students in the finer points of math, science and English.
From there, it was on to geometry and algebra for high school students. But he recognized a greater need among these older students, many of whom worked stressful jobs as grocery store clerks and delivery drivers during the pandemic. “Some were first-generation students like me, trying to make something of themselves,” Poklonskii recalled. “I thought, ‘You know what? I might as well, for those students, do it for free.’ I just felt for them.”
When the high school students turned to him for support with navigating the college application process, Poklonskii stepped in willingly. He proofread college-entrance essays, helped complete federal student aid forms and suggested classes that could make a college application shine. His deeper motivation? “I recognized the systemic barriers that hindered many of these students from considering higher education,” said Poklonskii.
By the end of his stint as a virtual tutor, Poklonskii had provided more than 500 hours of tutoring services.
Max lives and breathes enthusiasm and energy and excitement. He was just a dynamo in the classroom.
Ron Tilden, senior lecturer (retired), School of Business
Moving from campus to corporate life
Back on the UW Bothell campus, Poklonskii embraced his role as a learner, enjoying the small class sizes and the attentive, top-caliber professors he found in the School of Business. “The faculty really care about you as a person,” he said, “and I really love that.”
One of those faculty members was Ron Tilden, who has since retired from his role as a senior lecturer. Tilden was unsurprised to learn that Poklonskii had achieved a 4.0 grade point average, citing his combination of brain power and hard work as keys to his success. “Max lives and breathes enthusiasm and energy and excitement,” Tilden said. “He was just a dynamo in the classroom.”
True to form, Poklonskii didn’t take a break after receiving the President’s Medal his senior year at UW Bothell. Instead, he jumped right into his fourth and final internship, this one at the professional services firm Deloitte. When it ends in August, he’ll immediately pivot to a new full-time job.
What accounts for this medalist’s incredible drive? “I’ve always been like this,” said Poklonskii. “I think I might as well put in all of my effort, try my best, even though it sounds very corny. Go all in or go home.”
Repaying the cost of a dream
Looking back on all his has accomplished in the last six years, Poklonskii focuses on his first-generation experience — and what it cost his parents to bring him and his sister to the U.S.
“They did it for us,” he said. “It just feels wrong to be, like, ‘Whatever, I’ll just go enjoy.’”
Poklonskii and the many first-gen students he tutored abide by what he calls an unsaid rule: “We all have to try our best. Failure is not an option. There’s no golden parachute, nothing to fall back on.”
His long path from Kazakhstan to UW Bothell President’s Medalist seems proof that his efforts are paying off for him, his family and the community he has bult here.
“The American dream is alive and well,” said Professor Tilden, “and Max is a good example of that.”
