Winners of 13th Annual National Post Secondary Russian Essay Contest

[Tony Brown]

Dear Colleagues,

Congratulations to the winners of the Thirteenth Annual ACTR National Post-Secondary Russian Essay Contest. Over 100 students from 29 institutions throughout the United States win gold, silver, bronze, or honorable mention certificates.

In this year’s contest, there were 1,040 essays submitted from 48 universities, colleges, and institutions across the nation. Each essay was ranked by three judges in Russia, and often the results were simply too close to call.

I hope that you will continue to encourage your students to participate in this contest.

Sincerely, 

Tony Brown, NPSREC Chairperson

**********************************************************************
 
Thirteenth Annual National Post-Secondary Russian Essay Contest
American Council of Teachers of Russian
Topic: Please write a short essay based on this topic: “What is a friend?” / Что такое друг?

First Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 1)
John	Nunes	Brandeis University
James       	Reyes	Columbia University
		
Second Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Chelsea	Dickinson	University of Mississippi
Brian	Donahoe	Columbia University
Naomi 	Sharp	Columbia University
		
Third Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Joseph	Babeu	Brandeis University
Grace	Cho	Columbia University
Benjamin	Rashkovich	Columbia University
		
Honorable Mention (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Apolline	Aigueperse	University of California, Santa Barbara
Anoushka	Asgari	Columbia University
Pravin	Barton	Swarthmore College
Tina	Bencik	Pomona College
Mark	Borreliz	Brandeis University
Alecander	Cansler	United States Military Academy
Karson	Elmgren	The University of Texas at Austin
Christina	Fernandes	Columbia University
Lucas	Fronk	Portland State University
Alexandra A.	Henriques	Columbia University
Gray Harrison 	Henry	Columbia University
Mariana	Irby	Bryn Mawr College
Tamara	Kamatovic	University of Chicago
Claudia	Kelley	Princeton University
Tucker Henry  	Kuman	Columbia University
Joyce	Lim	Princeton University
David	Low	University of California, Santa Barbara
Anibal Junior	Lugo	Columbia University
Caroline W.	Lyell	University of Mississippi
Meagan	Martin	University of California, Los Angeles
Jorge	Mejia	Pomona College
Andrew	Motzer	Colgate University
Jennifer 	Rhodes	Columbia University
Joseph	Vaughn	Columbia University
Dibella	Wdzenczny	University of California, Santa Barbara
Elizabeth Rose	Williamson	University of Mississippi
Samantha	Wreschner	University of Chicago
Tianyuan	Zhang	Bryn Mawr College
Kan	Zhang	The University of Texas at Austin
Eve	Zuckerman	University of Chicago


First Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Giselle	Hsu	Rutgers University
Solomiya	Stebelska	Rutgers University
		
Second Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Christopher	Anthony	Brigham Young Univ.
Brett	Belingheri	Brigham Young Univ.
Takeshi 	Kaji	Columbia University
		
Third Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Ian	Calloway	University of Chicago
Justin	Trifiro	University of Montana-Missoula
		
Honorable Mention (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Toygun	Altintas	University of Chicago
Wesley	Bradley	University of Chicago
Brittney	Bunkis	University of Rochester
Casey	Connolly	University of Notre Dame
Adam	Demetriou	Yale University
Puya	Gerami	Columbia University
Laura	Hillegas	University of Chicago
Claire	Kim	University of Chicago
Michael	Klobucher	University of Rochester
Jorja 	Knauer 	Columbia University
Jessica	Lauser	University of Alaska Anchorage
Anahit	Manoukian	University of California, Los Angeles
Stephanie	Mielcarek	University of Chicago
Rachel	Moser	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Moe	Nakayama	University of Chicago
Travis	Richardson	Georgetown University
Gerald	Roberts	University of Chicago
Carley Loren	Rodgers	University of Mississippi
Anna	Schults	University of Chicago
Gregory	Sutherland	University of Rochester
Claire E.	Tills	University of Maryland, College Park
Yiyang	Zhu	University of Rochester
		
First Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Matt	Kupfer	Brandeis University
		
Second Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Darrion	Bowen	Portland State University
Paul	Cannon	Brigham Young Univ.
Paul	Gallo	Brigham Young Univ.
Nick	Lambson	Brigham Young Univ.
		
Third Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Christina	Champenois	Brigham Young Univ.
Beau	Gabriel	Yale University
Trent	Olsen	Brigham Young Univ.
Jacob	Parsley	Portland State University
		
Honorable Mention (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Seth	Anderson	Brigham Young Univ.
Kyle	Barry	Rutgers University
Audrey Rose	Hall	Princeton University
Kurt	Hepler	Brigham Young Univ.
Madeleine	Klingler	University of Rochester
Benjamin	Larsen	Brigham Young Univ.
Jae Kyu	Lee	Princeton University
Joshua	Prince	Brigham Young Univ.
Jared	Rader	Brigham Young Univ.
Lydia	Roberts	Brigham Young Univ.
Annilyn	Schill	Brigham Young Univ.
Lars	Spjut	Brigham Young Univ.
		
First Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 4)
Tyler	Madsen	Indiana University
Jacqueline	Yue	University of Pennsylvania
		
Second Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 4)
Todd	Long	Portland State University
Paul	Phelan	University of Notre Dame
Benedykt	Pleszczynski	Sewanee-The University of the South
		
Third Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 4)
Sydney	Heller	University of California, Los Angeles
Eleanor	Nurmi	University of Chicago
Cheryl	Stephenson	University of Chicago
		
Honorable Mention (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 4)
Peter	Armstrong	Georgetown University
Christina	DiGasbarro	Princeton University
Derek	Groom	University of California, Los Angeles
Zachary	King	University of Chicago
Alexandra	Kohut	Bryn Mawr College
Brittany	Roberts	University of Chicago
		
First Place (Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Maya	Tydykov	Brandeis University
		
Second Place (Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Anastasia	Austin	Brandeis University
Maryna	Sidykh	Rutgers University
		
Third Place (Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Alexander	Glebov	University of Rochester
Nadezhda	Riabkova	University of California, Los Angeles
		
Honorable Mention (Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Alexander	Droznin-Izrael	University of Pennsylvania
Yekaterina	Sherman	Columbia University
Caryn	Zagaynov	University of California, Los Angeles
		
First Place (Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Ivan	Ivashchenko	United States Military Academy
		
Second Place (Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Timur	Brodskiy	University of Mississippi
Valeria	Spirko	Portland State University
		
Third Place (Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Ecaterina	Toutok	University of Rochester
		
Honorable Mention (Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Ruta	Heinman	University of California, Santa Barbara
Nicole	Montenero	University of California, Santa Barbara
Oleksandr	Surmach	Purdue University
		
First Place (Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Oxana	Kibitkina	College of Charleston
Hasmik	Stepanyan	University of California, Los Angeles
		
Second Place (Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Arpi Karen	Grigoryan	University of Mississippi
		
Third Place (Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Lilit	Gabrielyan	University of California, Los Angeles
Maia	Kustin	University of California, Los Angeles
		
Honorable Mention (Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Anastasia	Lomova	University of California, Los Angeles
Vasiliy	Nam	College of Charleston
Inna 	Tsys	University of Maryland, College Park


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). (Please note that heritage learners of any Slavic language, including Russian, are not allowed to participate in this level and category of the contest.)

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

Heritage Learners (1) - 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.

Heritage Learners (2): 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.

Heritage Learners (3): 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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