The following feature written by Kelly O'Donnell appeared in the weekly Siena College SCoop on October 30, 2020

Anastasia Koniaev was born in Queens, and grew up on Long Island, but for years, she spoke only Russian. Koniaev's parents are from a poor area on the outskirts of Moscow. They lived without a lot of the luxuries they anticipated in America. But worse, they lived without hope that their children would have a chance to chase their dreams. There was no upward mobility through social classes in the suburbs of Moscow. So, before their three daughters were born, they made a life-altering decision about their futures. 

Koniaev's parents fled Russia for New York City, but they kept a Russian Orthodox home. It's all they knew. They didn't celebrate Christmas because in Soviet Russia, New Year's was celebrated instead. Koniaev remembers decorating a New Year's tree - called a Novogodnaya Yolka - she opened her presents a week later than her friends. 

Koniaev also ate different foods than her friends and spoke with a thick Russian accent (once she learned English). Over time, the influence of her friends, and her schools, and her neighborhood tilted her balance of culture toward American customs. But her role model has, and will always be, her Russian mother, Marina Kalinkina.

"She always wanted me and my sisters to reject common social stereotypes in Russia. The man does not have to provide for the family. She taught me to make my own money, to make my own career, and to be there for myself." 

Koniaev and her sisters were primarily raised by their mother. Koniaev intends to go to law school, it was her mother who fueled that dream. It was also her mother who put a tennis racket in her hand when she was just four years old. Koniaev's mom played growing up, though not competitively. It's another custom that was borrowed from Russia. Koniaev eventually lost her accent, but tennis stuck.

Tennis suited her philosophy, "I need to be good enough on my own." There are no teammates to lean on, no coaches to help in the middle of a match. You're alone, and she loved it. Koniaev played one year at Stony Brook, but it wasn't the right fit. She found what she was missing at Siena. Her older sister, Alexandra plays tennis at Samford University in Alabama. Their oldest sister, Michelle, is pursuing interior design in California. They're all pursuing their passions, on their own, the way their mother taught them.