"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. Now that I am a Fourth-Year and have had the opportunity to study in Moscow this summer, I have developed a passion for Russian language and culture."