Medalists in 14th Annual ACTR National Post-Secondary Russian Essay Contest

[Tony Brown]

Dear Colleagues,

Congratulations to the winners of the Fourteenth Annual ACTR National Post-Secondary Russian Essay Contest. In this year’s contest, there were 946 essays submitted from 55 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.

Thank you for encouraging your students to participate in this worthwhile endeavor and I hope that you will continue to support this program in the future.

Sincerely, 

Tony Brown, NPSREC Chairperson
**********************************************************************

Topic: Please write a short essay based on this topic: “Compare yourself to who you were four years ago.  What has changed?  What has stayed the same?” / “Сравните себя, каким вы были четыре года назад и каким вы стали теперь.  Что изменилось?  Что осталось неизменным?”


First Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Jovan Damjanovic, Amherst College
Naoki Tokoro, Swarthmore College
		
Second Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Grace Mitchell, University of Chicago
Christian Millian, Harvard University
Michelle Schulte, Kenyon College		

Third Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Max Lawton, Columbia University
Jason Kancylarz, Rutgers University
Sarah Mills, Lewis & Clark College		

Honorable Mention (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Joshua	O'Brien, University of Notre Dame
Tanner	Strickland, Harvard University
Averi Crockett	, Brigham Young University
Michael Beam, Pomona College
Alexander Jiang, Columbia University
Brian Chung, Boston College
Adam Marjai, Kenyon College
Lillian Jamison-Cash, Swarthmore College
Emily Nason, Kenyon College
Liam Leonard-Solis, Kenyon College
Andrew Krogman, Portland State University
Elisa Ronzheimer, Yale University
Kevin Otradovec, University of Chicago
Dylan Gilbert, Middlebury
Michaela Vebrova, Colgate University
Dylan Ogden, Kenyon College
Abigail	 Holtzman, Swarthmore College
Patrick	Johnson, Harvard University
Simon	Szybist	, Kenyon College
Mackenzie Stricklin, Dickinson College
Ahmed	 Sarhan, Yale University
Benjamin Fallon, Colgate University
Sloan Davis, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Paula Meltser, Colgate University
Raul Aguilar, Rutgers University
Alexandra Vreeman, Pomona College
Michelle Mayro, Columbia University

		
First Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Nathan Evans, Defense Language Institute
Alexander Turpin, University of Rochester		

Second Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Dakota	Whistler, University of Montana-Missoula
Mariana Irby, Bryn Mawr College
Sara Crawford, Sewanee-The University of the South		

Third Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Linda Kleinfeld, Sewanee-The University of the South
Jillian Wuorenma, Mount Holyoke College		

Honorable Mention (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 2)
James Browning, Carleton College
Eve Zuckerman, University of Chicago
Jacqueline Lender, Harvard University
Peter Nilsson, Swarthmore College
Ellen Parker, Brandeis University
Sydney Treuer	, Yale University
Kaylin	Land, Carleton College
Eric Cioffi, Miami University
Joe Babue, Brandeis University
Siobhan Harrity, Williams College
Pravin Barton, Swarthmore College
Lillian	Langford, Harvard University
Lirsen	Myrtaj	, College of William and Mary
Lucas Padovani, Brandeis University
Johann	Amberger, Kenyon College
Suzanne Freeman, Columbia University
Lilian Dube, University of Chicago
Justin Davis, University of Montana-Missoula
Sean Keeley, Boston College
Caroline Lyell, University of Mississippi
Michael Flanagan, University of Pennsylvania
Cyrus Newlin, Swarthmore College		

First Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 3)
David Smythe, Tufts University		

Second Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Jordan Callister, Brigham Young University
Jonathan Mahoney, Brigham Young University
Moe Nakayama, University of Chicago		

Third Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Garrett	McClintock, Brigham Young University
Emily Ziffer, Tufts University		

Honorable Mention (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Liqi Dong, Yale University
Joyce Lim, Princeton University
Ashley	Moe, Portland State University
Koji Takagi, Brigham Young University
Lars Spjut, Brigham Young University
Tianyuan Zhang, Bryn Mawr College
Rachel	Woods, Middlebury
Christopher Sarter-Soto, Portland State University
Sophie	Mankins, Bryn Mawr College
John Nunes, Brandeis University
Ana Frigo, Lewis & Clark College		

First Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 4)
Ed Hicks, Harvard University
Aliya Candeloro, University of Maryland, College Park		

Second Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 4)
Eleanor Nurmi	l, University of Chicago
Claire Atwood	, Harvard University
Daniele Leonetti, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign		

Third Place (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 4)
Adam Gardner	, Brigham Young University
Kurt Van Wagenen, Brigham Young University		

Honorable Mention (Non-Heritage Learners, Level 4)
Marta Burova, Harvard University
Erin Hutchinson, Harvard University
Sarah Lass, Kenyon College
Todd Long, Portland State University
Kei Sato, Harvard University
Beau Birdsall, Yale University		

First Place (Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Helen Sdvizhkov, University of Chicago
Maria Stoianova, Georgetown University		

Second Place (Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Tatiana	 Denisova, Pomona College
Margret Kvach, Portland State University
Anna Volski, Rutgers University		

Third Place (Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Inna Pinkhasova, University of California, Los Angeles
Elena Volokho, University of Maryland, College Park		

Honorable Mention (Heritage Learners, Level 1)
Yelena	Muratova, University of California, Los Angeles
Dmitry	Ramirez, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Irina Pidberejna, University of Central Florida		

First Place (Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Ecaterina Toutok, University of Rochester
Serhiy Plaksin, Temple University		

Second Place (Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Ivan Ivashchenko, United States Military Academy
Anna Tropnikova, University of Chicago
Timur Brodskiy, University of Mississippi		

Third Place (Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Ruslan	Lobov, Defense Language Institute
Alexander Savchuk, University of Maryland, College Park		

Honorable Mention (Heritage Learners, Level 2)
Kristina Clinton, Purdue University
Janelle	Santiago, University of Maryland, College Park
Anita Pechenenko, Yale University		

First Place (Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Georgy	 Shatskiy, University of California, Los Angeles
Arpi Grigoryan, University of Mississippi		

Second Place (Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Katerina Solomanjuk, Lewis & Clark College
Vasiliy	Nam, College of Charleston
Tatyana Avilova, Harvard University		

Third Place (Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Tatiana	 Galushkina, University of California, Los Angeles
Kenan Seyidov, University of Pennsylvania		

Honorable Mention (Heritage Learners, Level 3)
Andrei	Tcacenco, University of California, Santa Barbara
Sara Miller, University of California, Los Angeles
Setsen Altan-Ochir, Cornell College

 Description of Categories and Levels

Essays will be ranked according to levels as follows:

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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------