Honors and Awards: NSLI-Y Academic Year Russian (2019-20); Fulbright-Hays Scholarship for Group Study Abroad (Summer 2022); Sandra G. Freels Endowed Scholarship for Study of Russian (Summer 2022)
Career goals: what do you plan to do with your fluency in Russian?
I aim to pursue a career with the government either as a Foreign Service Officer or in another subset of the government. Overall, I want to help people and improve the world around me. With Russian, I will be able to work and help hundreds of thousands of more people than I would have been able to with English alone.
What attracted you to the PSU Russian Flagship program?
The price was the main factor in my decision because PSU is one of the most affordable universities with a RussianFlagship Program, as well as the location. I had never been to or lived on the West Coast before I decided to attend PSU. I also liked how well the Flagship program fit in with my political science major and the honors college. I never felt like I had to pick one over the others, which is a great feeling.
What’s the best aspect of being in the PSU Russian Flagship program?
I love that this program is a part of a national network of students and alumni. It gives you shared experiences and an instant connection to other students in parts of the country you might never have been to before! That interconnection and comradery are one of my favorite parts of being in this program.
Why is fluency in Russian important to you?
It all comes down to understanding. The more fluent you are the more you understand not only the language but also about the culture and history that has shaped the language and the people who speak it. Having greater fluency makes creating connections easier, and to me, that is one of the most important parts of learning a language because those connections mean so much.