The annual Slavic talent show and awards ceremony on May 1 showcased a large number of awards won by Slavic language students, from national awards and honor society memberships to local scholarships and fellowships.
ACTR National Post-Secondary Russian Essay Contest
U of I students made a splash in the annual ACTR essay contest, with 2 Gold Medals, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze, 2 Honorable Mentions, and 12 Certificates of Achievement. Slavic major Tom Booth added a ACTR Scholar Laureate award for his achievements to his Gold Medal in the Essay contest. REEEC major Ellie Kness joined Tom in sweeping the gold medals in their category (fourth-year Russian).
U of I Slavic Essay Contest
In the absence of other national essay contests, the Slavic Department forged ahead with our own, local essay contest for other languages, and saw excellent results there as well. Gold medals were won by the following first-year language students: Natalie Worwa (Polish), Kristina Kamatovic (BCS), Musa Ucar (Ukrainian), and Karina Povsteva (Czech). Congratulations to the many silver and bronze medalists, grammar royals, and other students recognized with awards as well.
Dobro Slovo National Slavic Honor Society
Professor George Gasyna inducted 4 new members into Dobro Slovo: David Mock (REEEC major), Gabriel Kedziora (Political Science with a Slavic Minor), Lisette Tokarskiy (Biology with a Russian minor), and Veronique Tolpygo (Accountancy with a Russian minor). The inductees are now lifetime members of the society, which recognizes achievement in Slavic studies.
Vekich Scholarships
Two students were selected to receive Vekich Scholarships for South Slavic Studies for the coming year. Each will receive a $1000 scholarship. They are Isidora Kostić, double majoring in Psychology with a neuroscience emphasis and Slavic Studies, and David Mock, double majoring in Agricultural and Consumer Sciences and REEES.
Maltby Fellowship
The Scott Kane Maltby Memorial Fund Fellowship this year is awarded to Daria Ponomareva, in recognition of her leadership in the classroom, both as an excellent teacher and as a model student.
Slavic Department Outstanding Teaching Assistant
Sergei Motov, TA for Fourth-Year Russian, received this recognition, which comes with a small monetary award, for his excellent work with his students of advanced Russian.
Skalnik Prize
At their spring reception, REEEC announced Mack Noxon as the winner of the Skalnik graduate essay contest for her essay, "Fear, Shame, and Desire: Affect in Vladimir Makanin’s 'The Prisoner of the Caucasus.'"
Congratulations to all student award winners!