Russian at William & Mary
Russian Studies Graduates By Year of Graduation .
Write us about the news in your life and career. 
2008
Trevor Albert tgalbe@wm.edu
Johanna Blevins jlblev@wm.edu
Colin Brauer cmbrau@wm.edu
Linda Crossman lbcros@wm.edu
Larisa Gervasi lxgerv@wm.edu
Chris Hall cnhall@wm.edu
Bettina Hilliard bdhil2@wm.edu
Timothy Lee (tcleex@wm.edu)
Zach Miller (zgmill@wm.edu)
Kyle Minner (krminn@wm.edu)
Aylara Odekova (axodek@wm.edu, maddy012@yahoo.com)
Victor Osimitz (v.osimitz@gmail.com) is a computer engineer. He works in Palo Alto, CA, for one of Silicon Valley companies (updated spring 2008).
Chris Pieper (ctpiep@wm.edu)
Charlotte Sabalis (crsaba@wm.edu)
Ben Saxton-Ruiz (bjsaxt@wm.edu)
Kaitlyn Smoot kasmoo@wm.edu
2007
John Adams serves in the US Army.
Erin Alpert (era17@pitt.edu) is a Ph.D student at the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Pittsburgh.
Hannah Askin is a graduate students at the Department of Linguistics, Duke University.
Mandie Constanzer will go to law school.
Mary Catherine French (mcfren@sas.upenn.edu) is a Ph.D. student at the History Department, University of Pennsylvania. She specializes in modern Russian history.
Jason Gardenier goes to the University of Virginia Medical School.
Molly Godwin-Jones will study at the Piatigorsk State University, Southern Russia, and will work for the United Methodist Church in Piatigorsk area.
Hannah Hethcox will be attending George Mason University, MFA in poetry.
Zach Keifer, in his own words, "will be trying to break into the Russian movie production scene as well as/or the Russian rap scene."
Richard Olson works in Russia (updated in spring 2008).
Rob Simmons (rhsimm@wm.edu) currently teaches English in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is the director of education programs at the International School "ENGLISH CITY" (updated spring 2008).
Kate Stuber (kate.stuber@gmail.com) is an Assistant Manager for Green Leafe Gourmet Catering in Williamsburg, VA.
Peter Thomas (pthomas@iif.com) works for the Institute of International Finance. Peter taught English in Novosibirsk, Russia in 2007 (updated in Spring 2008).
Laura Whittle will study at the Piatigorsk State University, Southern Russia, and will work for the United Methodist Church in Piatigorsk area.
Danny Wysong, in his own words, "will be spending the coming months as a man-about-town and gentleman-thief."
2006
Daniel Burke is a Ph.D. student at the Physics Department, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Kathleen Davis is a graduate student at Georgetown University.
Paul Fekula works for the Renaissance Bank in Moscow, Russia (updated spring 2008).
Ed Geist (egeist@email.unc.edu) is a Ph.D. student at the History Department, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Elizabeth Kade
Scott Minner works for the government.
Shelley Morris
Jacob Shier won Fulbright Scholarship and is currently teaching English in Russia. Jacob teaches Russian in Ekaterinburg, Russia (2006). Jacob is a graduate student at Columbia University (Linguistics Dept) (updated in fall 2007).
Elise Thorsen (enthorsen@gmail.com) is currently a Ph.D. student at the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, University of Pittsburgh. She completed Middlebury Summer School in 2006 and a graduate program at the Center for International Studies at Moscow State University (updated in spring 2008).
2005
Sarah Meyers
Michelle Minaskanian works for the United Nations (updated in 2006).
Patrick Walsh (patrickwalsh83@gmail.com) From 2005 till 2007 Patrick was a Peace Corps volunteer. He taught English in Zhmerinka, Ukraine. In fall 2007, Patrick starts graduate studies at Georges Washington University.
2004
Kimberley Cossey was last sighted teaching English at a school in St. Petersburg.
Elizabeth Hulley works at a children’s ministry called Stoneworks, International in St.Petersburg, Russia (2004-2006).
Matt Kiser was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and received High Honors for his Thesis "Commodifying Identities: Representations of Intelligentsia in Post-Soviet Crime Fiction" (2004). Matt received MA at the Dept of Slavic Languages at the U of Berkeley (2007). Matt currently is a librarian at the U of CA, Berkeley (updated spring 2008).
Elizabeth Norton I am currently applying for a job with the US Civilian Research and Development Foundation, which encourages research (especially nonproliferation research) in the former Soviet Union. You can see their website at www.crdf.org I think it looks very interesting.
Robert Pole
2003
Peter Cunningham
Carrie Dolive, cedoli@wm.edu, Carrie is currently working for the Peace Corps in Turkmenistan (2003-05).
Bethany Karas is a graduate student at American University.
Megan Kerner
Erin Nilan works for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in the DC area. For more information about this government agency (formerly called the National Imagery and Mapping Agency), see their web site.
Katie Smyth
Libby Sova, Libby works for the government in the DC area.
Clare Wuerker, cpw3z@virginia.edu Clare is currently in the Ph.D. program in Russian History at the University of Virginia (2003).
2002
Kelly Barrett
Catherine De Roever attends the University of Virginia Law School.
Kristina Downs
Katie Guyton
Meghan Faulkner
Max Kogan received a Masters degree from the London School of Economics
Liza Lord
Phil Murray
Diana Papazian teaches Armenian to U.S. Government employees in the Washington, D.C. area.
Channing Rich attends the Elliot School for Foreign Affairs at George Washington University
Amanda Ross is currently serving in Moldova as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
Lauren (Schantz) Chen attends Law School at the University of North Carolina
Nik Tysiak attends Law School at American University
Sixtine Valdelievre
2001
Karen Dause
Doug Delman
Kevin Hessberg
Elizabeth Ruedy currently works in Washington, D.C. as the Assistant Program Officer for Russia at the International Republican Institute.
Rachel Showalter
2000
Alicia Boyd
Jacquelyn Dille
Margot Gilliam.
Heather Halpin
Sarah Hutchison currently works for the Department of State. She got back from
David Kern
John Martin
1999
Lisa Goldstein Since finishing her Master's Degree in Library Science, Lisa has been working as a children's and teen librarian at the central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. She reports that her Russian comes in handy with the Russian immigrants in the neighborhood.
Annie Harvilicz
Margaret Hunter
Turquoise Kelly. Since graduating from W&M, Turquoise has been teaching in Fairfax County Public Schools. She has found the time to complete a Master's degree at George Mason University in Multicultural/Multilingual Education. During the last few summers, she has traveled to Jamaica to work with students in the public schools and orphanages and plans on returning again this summer.
Katherine Knight
Ashley Martin. After graduating from W & M, Ashley worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in Dalnegorsk (Russian Far East), then as a projects administrator for Europe and Eurasia for Chemonics International firm in Washington, D.C. Over the last few years, her work has taken her to Russia, Kyrgyzia, Armenia, Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina. She is planning to attend Law School in the U.S.
Rachel Mikeska recently finished a Master's degree in Historical Preservation at the University of Texas, Austin, and is now on an Alpha Bank fellowship program in Moscow, where she will be working with local government organizations concerned with preserving historically significant architecture. For more information about this program, go to http://www.cdsintl.org/fromusa/alfa.htm.
Heather Notter
Ashley (Richardson) Elzein
1998
Elizabeth Adams
Rian (Harker) Harris is in the Foreign Service
Juliana Mirabilio is a lawyer working for Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in Washington, DC.
Greg Politzer graduated from VCU's medical school a few years ago and is currently practicing medicine in Pittsburgh. He is married and has a little boy.
Janah Putnam is currently a graduate student and an English teacher in Germany.
1997
Scott Deacle
Judy Dunbar is currently working for the Office of Conflict Management & Mitigation at USAID (for more information, see above).
Jenifer Hlavna worked for Anderson Consulting after graduation and recently received a Masters degree in Public Policy from Duke University.
Justin Kortanek works for the U.S. Government in the Washington, D.C. area.
Amanda Lahan is studying International Relations at Georgetown University.
Ruth Mariampolski works for Borders Group -- writing for email and print newsletters on Science Fiction & Romance genres
Jessica Morgan received her Masters degree from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and started working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Jennifer Otterbein
Jenne Powers is working on her PhD in Russian Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was recently awarded a Fulbright Grant to do dissertation research in Moscow in the Fall and Winter of 2005-06.
Nicole Radshaw received her Masters degree in Slavic Languages and Literatures from the University of Virginia.
Mikhail Zeldovich received a law degree from Harvard University and is currently practicing law for the US government in DC.
1996
Sonia (Newman) Betz is married and living in Richmond with her husband Damian and their children, Cameron and Sabrina.
Amy Cogan. After working for Anderson Consulting, Amy served two years in the Peace Corps in Central Asia.
Karen Gilbride. After living in Russia for several years, Karen enrolled in a graduate program in Anthropology studying immigrant communities in the States. More recently, she was a program manager for the Center for Multicultural Human Services in DC.
David Harvilicz graduated from NYU Law School in 1999 and is currently working as an attorney in the Washington DC area.
Keri Moore received a Masters degree from the Colorado School of Mines in 1999 and worked for a while on the National Research Council staff in Washington, DC.
Wendy Pearson
Sara Taylor served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bangladesh and later attended Graduate School in International Development at the University of New Hampshire.
1995
Chris Crowl
Jodi Hevelone is an Aviation Safety Inspector for the FAA.
Miriam Kramer studied International Relations in England for several years before returning to the States. She is currently the Director of Development and Communications at the Alliance of Peacebuilding in Washington, DC (2007).
Courtney Moser
Rebecca Sack. After spending several years living and working for the Peace Corps in Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan, Rebecca enrolled in a graduate program in theology in Canada. She is presently living in Poughkeepsie, NY, where she is the Associate Pastor of youth and young adult ministry at the local United Methodist Church. She is married to Paul Mosley, who teaches dance at Vassar College, and they are the proud parents of Shepherd Oren (born in June 2005).
Cynthia Unruh
Sara VanGunst - last we heard, Sara was working as a Development Officer for IREX (the International Research and Exchanges Board)
Matt Wymer taught English as a second language for several years in Korea before returning to the States.
1994
Shirley Coggon
Jennifer Greene is married and has a son.
Julie Greene
Bryce Johnson received a PhD in Slavic Linguistics from Duke University in 2000 and recently got married. He teaches at Neumann College in Pennsylvania (updated fall 2006).
Jim McKeon. After graduating from the College, Jim received a Ph.D. in Applied Science at William and Mary. He is married to Tracey Cesario (W & M '94) and lives and works in Woodbridge, VA.
Rebecca Young. After studying for several years in Rostov-na-Donu, Rebecca moved to California, received a master's degree in teaching English as a Second Language and is presently working in Fairfax county as an ESL teacher.
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