Student News

REEEC congratulates the following student award winners and the Summer 2017 FLAS fellows:

2017 Yaro Skalnik Prize for the Best Graduate Essay in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies:

• Felix Cowan (PhD Student in History) for his essay, “Beyond Urban Boundaries: The Penny Press and Lower-Class Integration in the Russian Empire”
• Daria Semenova (PhD Student in Slavic Languages and Literatures) for her essay, “A Robinson for an awakening nation: a case study on a translation which is not one”

Summer 2017 FLAS Fellows:

• Tyler Dolan (PhD Student in Slavic Languages and Literatures) for Russian
• Jacob Goldsmith (PhD Student in Slavic Languages and Literatures) for Russian
• LeiAnna Hamel (PhD Candidate in Slavic Languages and Literatures) for Yiddish
• Douglas Heintz (MS Candidate in Library and Information Science) for Russian
• Marco Jaimes (PhD Candidate in History) for Czech
• Jennifer Jenson (PhD Student in German Studies) for Russian
• Benjamin Krupp (PhD Student in Anthropology) for Russian
• Thornton Miller (PhD Candidate in Musicology) for Russian
• Hannah Werner (PhD Student in History) for Yiddish

Spring Reception 2016

REEEC celebrated the end of the academic year with its annual Spring Reception on Friday, May 13. Students, faculty, staff, and guests enjoyed refreshments provided by Pekara Bakery. During the reception, student award winners and graduating students were recognized. Matthew Klopfenstein (Ph.D. student in History) was named the winner of the 2016 Yaro Skalnik Prize for his essay entitled “Modernity and the Task of Ozdorovlenie: Russian Doctors and the Discourse of Social Hygiene.” Summer 2016 FLAS fellows were announced (please see here for the list of fellows). Graduating REEEC M.A. students Bethany Wages and Emily Lipira, and graduating undergraduate students Gabriella Repala (REEEC) and Medina Spiodic (Economics with a REEEC minor) were also recognized for their achievements in REEE studies. The REEEC staff wishes everyone a wonderful summer! We hope to see you all again in the fall!

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Spring 2016 Honors

REEEC would like to congratulate the following student award winners:

2016 Yaro Skalnik Prize for Best Student Essay

Graduate Student – Matthew Klopfenstein for his essay, “Modernity and the Task of Ozdorovlenie: Russian Doctors and the Discourse of School Hygiene” written for HIST 594 – Introduction to Historical Writing (Spring 2016) taught by Tamara Chaplin and Nils Jacobsen (paper adviser, Mark Steinberg).

Summer 2016 FLAS Fellows

Graduate Students

• Jeffrey Castle (Germanic Languages and Literatures) – Czech
• Frederick Miller (Music) – Russian
• Tyler Dolan (Slavic Languages and Literatures) – Russian
• LeiAnna Hamel (Slavic Languages and Literatures) – Russian

Undergraduate Students

• Sharadyn Ciota (Political Science) – Russian
• Ariel Glaviano (Applied Health Sciences) – Russian

REEEC would also like to congratulate the following graduating students:

M.A. in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies

• Emily Lipira
• Bethany Wages

B.A. in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies

• Gabriella Repala

 

Springtime Honors

REEEC would like to congratulate the following student award winners:

2015 Yaro Skalnik Prize for the Best Student Essay

Graduate Student – Alana Holland (REEEC) – “Writing the Holocaust where ‘Things’re a little diffrent’: Jáchym Topol and the Merits of the Postmodernist Style to Presenting the Holocaust in Eastern Europe”

Prof. Carol Leff (Assoc. Professor of Political Science) announcing the graduate student winner of the Yaro Skalnik Prize – Alana Holland.

Undergraduate Student – Lucy Pakhnyuk (REEEC and Political Science) – “From Hybrid Regime to Holy Regime: An Analysis of Putin’s Discursive Politics Since 2011”

Prof. Carol Leff announcing the undergraduate student winner of the Yaro Skalnik Prize – Lucy Pakhnyuk.

Summer 2015 FLAS Fellows

Graduate Students:

• Anna Harbaugh (History) – Georgian
• Nadia Hoppe (Slavic Languages and Literatures) – Russian
• Sabrina Jaszi (Library and Information Science) – Russian
• Emily Lipira (REEEC) – Russian
• Mitchell Margolis (Urban and Regional Planning) – Turkish
• Matthew McWilliams (REEEC) – Russian
• Alejandra Pires (Slavic Languages and Literatures) – Russian
• Bethany Wages (REEEC) – Turkish
• Austin Yost (History) – Russian

Undergraduate Students:

• Anthony Pearce (Slavic Languages and Literatures) – Russian
• Gabriella Repala (REEEC) – Russian

Student Achievements

REEEC congratulates our students on their accomplishments!

Jeremy Crumpton  (Slavic Languages and Literatures) and Stefania Culafic (Slavic Languages and Literatures) were the winners of the 2014 Vekich Scholarship, an undergraduate award for students of South Slavic languages, named in honor of  Illinois alumna Anne M. Vekich. The scholarship will cover the cost of Bosnia/Croatian/Serbian (SCR 101-102, 201-202, or 301-302) language course texts and materials for the 2014-2015 academic year. In addition, Vekich Scholars will be eligible to apply for fellowship support toward a summer language program to continue their studies in the U.S. or Bosnia, Croatia, or Serbia in the summer of 2015.

Marina Filipovic (Ph.D. Candidate in Slavic Languages and Literatures) was the graduate student winner of the 2014 Yaro Skalnik Prize for the Best Student Essay. She received a certificate and a $250 cash prize. Marina also received the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant (TA) Award from the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures.

Natalya Khokholova (Ph.D. Candidate in Slavic Languages and Literatures) has accepted a position with American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (a partner of Bard College).

Anca Mandru (Ph.D. Candidate in History) received the Best Doctoral Student Award at the 2014 Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN).

Matt McWilliams (Comparative and World Literatures) was  the undergraduate student winner of the 2014 Yaro Skalnik Prize for the Best Student Essay. He received a certificate and a $150 cash prize.

Rebecca Nathanson (M.A. in Urban Planning) has been offered a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Grant to Bosnia and Herzegovina.