Certification: Language Flagship Certified Global Professional with Distinction
Honors and Awards: NSLI-Y Summer Korea 2016, David L. Boren Scholarship 2020-2021
What do you plan to do with your fluency in Russian?
I plan to find employment with the Department of State and help build international relationships between Russia, Korea, and America.
What attracted you to the PSU Russian Flagship program?
I was interested in the fact that it was a Flagship, meaning that it would be a lot more interactive and complete compared to taking language classes solely. In addition, I was very interested in learning Russian intensively because I feel that with a higher intensity and immersion of learning a certain language comes high success and quicker language progression.
What's the best aspect of being in the PSU Russian Flagship program?
The best aspect of being in the Flagship is the amount of information we learn about Russian culture as well as the community we build. Learning Russian doesn't just stop at the end of each class -- we have events, a club, and related homework to keep us looking at Russian in our daily lives. As a first-year student, I saw the progress and the amazing projects that the higher year students had completed and I felt enough motivation to push me through the difficulties and struggles of learning such a difficult language.
Why is fluency in Russian important to you?
It seems to me that a large portion of America has a very distorted and negative view of Russia. With fluency in Russian, I can create my own view of Russia that promotes a more positive outlook on the country to my peers. In addition, I can function as a diplomat to Russia in clearing misconceptions that Russians may have of Americans.