ACTR's 2007 Russian Essay Contest Winners

[Patricia Zody]

Dear Colleagues,

Here are the results of ACTR¹s Eighth Annual National Post-Secondary Russian
Essay Contest.  In this year¹s contest, there were 702 essays submitted from
51 universities and colleges.  Each essay was ranked by three judges in
Russia, and often the results were simply too close to call.

Congratulations to the winners of the contest!  We had over 100 students
from 42 institutions throughout the United States win gold, silver, bronze,
or honorable mention certificates.

Sincerely, 

Patricia Zody, NPSREC Chairperson
**********************************************************************
Eighth Annual National Post-Secondary Russian Essay Contest
American Council of Teachers of Russian
Topic: Write a letter to a figure from Russian history or a hero (heroine)
from Russian literature./ Napishite pis'mo istoricheskomu litsu ili geroiu
russkoi literatury.

Non-Heritage Learners, Level 1

First Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Elise Bergerson, Columbia University
Emilia Firtich, Vassar College
Matthew Regner, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Second Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Sasha Lauren de Vogel, Columbia University
Carrie Leach, Vassar College
Jennifer Louise Wilson, Columbia University

Third Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Yael Hall, Columbia University
Stephanie Norton, Kenyon College
Catherine Weinburg, Columbia University

Honorable Mention (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Geoff Bakken, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Linda Viviana Barsa, Columbia University
Jessica Comola, Rhodes College
Mark Fischer, University of Chicago
Matthew Gore, University of Notre Dame
Elizabeth Carmel Grefrath, Columbia University
Andrea Fullerton, Kenyon College
Zachary L. Jones, Miami University
Holdger G. Lowendorf, Temple University
Meagan McDaniel, Bryn Mawr College
Pranjal Patel, University of Chicago
Livia Pieralli, University of Pennsylvania
Rachel Schechter, Yale University
Tekla Schmaus, University of Chicago
Mark Sikora, Rutgers University
Kendra Tippens, Sewanee: The University of the South
Alex Wang, University of California, Santa Barbara
Alison Weden, Dickinson College

******************************************************************

Non-Heritage Learners, Level 2

First Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Elizabeth Ann Berry, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Jason Cieply, Kenyon College
Brian Oches, Columbia University
Esen Sefik, Yale University

Second Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Lauren Hill, Amherst College
Michael Jaskiw, Harvard University
Andrew Welbaum, Miami University

Third Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Nicole Cretacci, Yale University
Justin Lo, Yale University
Kamil Yilmaz, Columbia University

Honorable Mention (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Maria Blackwood, Yale University
Jonathan L. Broehl, Drew University
Jordan N. Bulger, Columbia University
Liz Carlson, Rhodes College
Dan Tam Do, Indiana University
Diana Renee Duarte, Columbia University
Kristen P. Fabian, College of Charleston
Anna Fichman, University of Utah
Alison Fisher, Kenyon College
Megan Grebe, University of Notre Dame
Ivelina Konstantinova, The Ohio State University
Cecilia Leugers, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Sarah O¹Brien, Yale University
Alfred Rosenbluth, Connecticut College
Courtney Seliverstova, University of California, Los Angeles
Jeffrey A. Truelock, Indiana University

********************************************************************
 
Non-Heritage Learners, Level 3

First Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Rachel Glassberg, Pomona College
Brian Kim, Williams College

Second Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Dana S. Nenova, University of Pennsylvania
Sean B. Pitt, University of Pennsylvania

Third Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Brenden Carbonell, Yale University
Eric Ciaramella, Yale University
Anna Glett, Bowling Green State University
Rebecca Holdorph, Kenyon College
Mariya Martinez, New York University

Honorable Mention (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Adam Berey, Lawrence University
Jennifer Brannan, Beloit College
Christine Carbellano, Rutgers University
Edward Chien, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Abigail Graber, Swarthmore College
Lucas Keturi, New York University
John Tilden King, Columbia University
Sarah Krueger, Lawrence University
Katie Lenhoff, Pomona College
Jennifer Mihok, Dickinson College
Rachel Ruskin, Amherst College
Stephanie Wesley, Pomona College

*********************************************************************
 
Non-Heritage Learners, Level 4

First Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 4)
Beach Gray, Williams College
Joel Knopf, Yale University

Second Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 4)
Kelly Lostroscio, Indiana University

Third Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 4)
Peter Holm, Swarthmore College
Megan McClain, University of Notre Dame
Carly Popkin, Barnard College

Honorable Mention (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 4)
Melissa A. Cook, University of Oregon
Brian Fuller, Cornell College
Edie Furniss, Beloit College
Ian Lanzillotti, Indiana University
Clayton Merkley, United States Military Academy
***********************************************************************

Heritage Learners, Level 1

First Place (Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Iana Mikhailova, Columbia University

Second Place (Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Sofia Brickman, University of California, Santa Barbara
Tanya Gordonov, Rutgers University

Third Place (Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Yan Kiriakov, Temple University
Elina Lazich, Rutgers University
Liza Lozovatskaya, University of Pennsylvania

Honorable Mention (Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Medea Asatiani, Temple University
Julia Latash, Washington University in St. Louis
Olexander Mykyta, Boston College
Kate Rumyantseva, Temple University
Alexander Vasin, University of Pennsylvania

*******************************************************************
 
Heritage Learners, Level 2

First Place (Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Natalya Berenshteyn, University of California, Los Angeles
Natalia Klishina, Pomona College

Second Place (Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Pavel Gitnik, University of California, Los Angeles
Polina Konuchkova, University of Utah
Romy Maxwell, University of California, Los Angeles

Third Place (Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Syuzanna Adamyan, University of California, Los Angeles
Alexsandra Murray, University of Mississippi

Honorable Mention (Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Alla Bronshteyn, University of California, Los Angeles
Yevgeniya Teyfukova, University of California, Santa Barbara
***************************************************************

Heritage Learners, Level 3

First Place (Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Maria Bogatyreva, University of California, Los Angeles
Alisher Saydalikhodjayev, Pomona College

Second Place (Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Helen Braginsky, University of California, Los Angeles
Alla Kushner, University of Illinois at Chicago

Third Place (Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Nika V. Koukhartchouk, University of Mississippi
Biana Sidanova, Rutgers University

Honorable Mention (Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Mariya Ardashnikova, Rutgers University
Natalya Garber, University of California, Los Angeles
Kristina Pershina, Rutgers University
******************************************************
Description of Categories and Levels

Category 1: Non-Heritage Learners (those learners who do not and did not
ever speak Russian in the home. Please take the time to calculate the number
of hours that your students have studied Russian to place them in the proper
category.)

Level One: students who at the time of the essay contest will have had fewer
than 100 contact hours of instruction in Russian (whether in college alone
or in college and high school). (This is mostly students in first-year
Russian.)

Level Two: students who at the time of the essay contest will have had more
than 100 contact hours, but fewer than 250 contact hours of instruction.
(This is mostly students in second-year Russian.)

Level Three: students who will have had more than 250 contact hours, but
fewer than 400 contact hours of instruction. (This is mostly students in
third or fourth-year Russian.)

Level Four: students who will have had more than 400 contact hours of
instruction. (This is mostly students in fourth-year or fifth-year Russian.)

Category 2: Heritage Learners

Level One - students who speak Russian with their families and who have NOT
attended school in Russia or the former Soviet Union and have to learn
reading and writing skills after emigration.

Level Two: students who speak Russian with their families and who have
attended school for fewer than 5 years in Russia or the former Soviet Union
and may have had to relearn reading and writing skills after emigration.

Level Three: students who speak Russian with their families and who have
attended school for 5 or more years in Russia or the former Soviet Union and
have not had to relearn reading and writing skills after emigration.

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