NOW
Jacob Parsley works in the NASA Office of International and Interagency Relations, where he supports NASA's Science Mission Directorate. In this role, Jacob coordinates and negotiates a wide range of scientific collaborations between NASA and its international partners. Jacob graduated from PSU with degrees in Political Science and Russian. He completed both the PSU Russian Domestic Flagship Program and the 2012-2013 Russian Overseas Flagship in Saint Petersburg. He holds an M.A. in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies from Stanford University, and is the recipient of a Boren Scholarship and FLAS Fellowship, both for Russian.
THEN
Certification: Language Flagship Certified Global Professional
Honors and Awards: Boren Scholarship Recipient, 2012-2013; Russian Overseas Flagship, 2012-2013; American Councils of Teachers of Russian (ACTR) National Post-Secondary Russian Essay Contest, Third Place for Non-Heritage Learners, Level 3, 2011
International Internship:
Citizens' Watch
What do you plan to do with your fluency in Russian?
I hope to work for the federal government, possibly at the Department of State, in a position that allows me to utilize my Russian.
What attracted you to RFP?
I had studied Russian at PSU prior to serving in the Peace Corps in a Russian-speaking country. Both of those experiences reinforced my desire to improve my Russian skills and attain a higher level of proficiency. Coming back and knowing that I wanted to pursue Russian further made joining Flagship an extremely easy decision – language programs of this caliber are few and far between. Everything about it is amazing and I am lucky to be a part of it.
What's the best aspect of being in RFP?
The faculty. We are spoiled at PSU RFP with small class sizes and fantastic instructors who clearly love what they do and go out of their way to help their students.
Why is fluency in Russian important to you?
I never expected to start learning Russian. That simple decision has carried me around the world and back again, and I have met hundreds upon hundreds of fascinating people as a result. It’s made me a smarter citizen of the world and a smarter American, and I hope to be able to use it in a career someday.