Alumni
Pfeiffer, BA 2011
After graduating in May, John moved up to New York City to work for Global Advertising Strategies, a Russian-owned marketing and advertising firm. He found the position while reading an article about Snob magazine, a Russian-American publication, which Global does the ad placements for.
Kelly, BA 2011
Chelsea Kelly graduated with a minor in Russian and Eastern European Studies in May 2011. She spent the summer traveling through Asia and co-authoring a publication for the Small Arms Survey, a Geneva-based organization that researches small arms and light weapons policy issues. In the fall, she will begin her 1L year at Yale Law School.
Bender, BA 2011
After spending the fall semester of 2009 studying abroad in St. Petersburg, Melissa graduated in May with a double major in Foreign Affairs and Russian and East European Studies. She is currently interning in the Communications department of Management Systems International, an international development company and USAID contractor. Although she is working in (purely-English language) Communications now, she hopes to further her study of Russian within the development community, specifically through democracy, human rights, and governance projects in Russia and the CIS region.
Anderson, BA 2011
This fall Haley (Russian and East European Studies major) begins studies at New York University School of Law as an International Law Dean's Scholar. Additionally, her article on the role played by perceptions of the United States in the Russo-Georgian War of 2008 will be published in this semester's foreign language edition of The Oculus.
Rosenmund, BA 2012
"After initially only being acquainted with the great Russian composers of the late 18th century, I started to branch out into the language, literature, and art of Russia. I absolutely loved everything I encountered and found myself entrenched in the language and culture of Russia. After spending a month in the country studying with Professor Ryan, I plan to continue my studies of Russian music and culture in graduate school."
Koon, BA 2012
"I arrived at my study of Russian through the kindness of Lilia Safyanovna, who allowed me to sit in on her already-full RUSS 101 class on my first day as a UVA student. I had always been fascinated with Soviet-era history and politics, and wanted to explore the language. Little did I know it would grow to be the most beautiful, intriguing, frustratingly complex, and mystical subject I've ever studied. The incredible first-hand experience of the faculty and staff, along with their unending willingness to engage with and help their students, has opened a rich new world for me to explore.
Ball, BA 2012
"When I first arrived at UVa, I enrolled in First-Year Russian to satisfy the foreign language requirement for graduation. I have a knack for languages and wanted to take something that was challenging and used a different alphabet. While taking that first semester of Russian language, I was fascinated by the complexities of the language and the rich history. I quickly signed up for as many Russian classes as possible, including politics, history, culture, literature, and folklore.
Richardson, BA 2013
"I started studying German in high school and fell in love with foreign languages—I wanted to learn to speak as many foreign languages as I possibly could! When I got to UVa, I started studying Russian and decided that though it is a devilishly difficult language, it is beautiful and enthralling. Of all the languages I’ve studied, Russian is my favorite. I decided to major in Russian Language and Literature so that I can become fluent in Russian and become very knowledgeable of the Russian culture through the literature.
Hurd, BA 2013
"Ever since I saw the animated adaptation of "Anastasia" in 1997, I was totally taken with the idea of Russia and Eastern Europe. Despite the rather childish incentive to study Russian, I have not found a way to turn back. While the language, with all of its cases and complexity, has been a rewarding challenge, it’s the literature that has kept me hostage. From Tolstoy to Gogol to Dostoevsky, there are few writers holding such powerful lenses to the human experience and few places more naturally obscure than Russia."
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