In keeping with the university’s commitment to global citizenship, 13 Wittenberg students, President Mark Erickson and his family, along with Professors Olga Medvedkov and Gerry Hudson spent time in Russia this summer as part of an intense educational experience. Travel with the group and learn just how far the Witt light extends.
When Ryan Deutschendorf ’07 landed in Moscow this summer with fellow students, professors and alumni, he never imagined he would spend part of his field study recuperating in a hospital.
Shortly after his arrival, Deutschendorf began showing symptoms of appendicitis, which Olga Medvedkov, professor of geography, quickly recognized. Medvedkov and her colleague and co-founder of the Russian immersion program, Gerry Hudson, professor of political science, had already taken membership in a local, private hospital for such an emergency, and Deutschendorf was quickly spirited there. Hudson then kept in touch with the senior class president’s parents.
“His surgery went very well, and he was able to join us for most of the trip,” Medvedkov said.
Such care and the vast network of connections shared by Medvedkov and Hudson epitomize Wittenberg’s annual Russian immersion program, which has exposed more than 40 students to urban development, material culture and local politics in one of the world’s most rapidly changing countries.
“What a privilege it was for us as a family to travel to Russia with our faculty and students and see firsthand the power of a Wittenberg education,” President Mark Erickson said. “To see the incredible mentoring provided by our faculty and to see our students fully engaged in learning about the Russian culture was inspiring.”
Founded in 1999 by Medvedkov and Hudson, the program allows 10-13 students biannually to study Russian politics, history, communications, and Russian society and culture in-depth for four weeks following Commencement. Students joining Deutschendorf this year included Alexa Bourquin ’06, Kara Clunk ’08, Nathan Devers ’08, Karl Fazli ’08, Cody Grindle ’09, Troy Meyers ’08, Seth Morgan ’08, Angela Painter ’09, Mark Preston ’08, Peter Rahal ’08, Özge Sayginer ’09 and Kathryn Volk ’06.
During this year’s trip, students studied media relations at The Moscow Times, as well as charitable organizations and political structures with key leaders in the respective areas. They also attended a variety of lectures at both Moscow State University and the Washington-based Carnegie Foundation for International Peace, and enjoyed some time touring the country.
Following the trip, students can receive as many as eight credits if they chose to write a professional paper about the experience and then present that paper at the annual conference of the East Lakes Division of American Geographers, scheduled this year for Oct. 20-21 at the University of Toledo.
“We’ve normally had three to four papers presented, and Wittenberg has always received first or second place awards or both,” Medvedkov said. “To have seven students presenting this year is very exciting.”
An extension of Medvedkov and Hudson’s team-taught course Moscow: Local Politics and Urban Planning, this year’s trip also engaged the campus and allowed the community to tag along as a result of Wittenberg’s continued investment in technology. Throughout the trip, students managed to keep friends, family and fellow students informed through an online blog created especially for the experience.
“Before coming to Moscow, I really had no idea what to expect,” noted alumna Kathryn Volk ’06, who decided to travel with the group despite not needing the credits. “Like many other international cities, the historical architecture is beautiful, business and commercial areas are expanding rapidly, and the streets and subways are mobbed with people rushing in different directions. But beneath the surface, life is so different here.”
Well-versed in the Russian language, Volk communicated with the Russian people with ease. Although knowing the language is not a requirement, according to Medvedkov, the experience has fueled students’ interest in learning the language upon their return to campus.
“As part of the program, we immediately connect the students with Russian students who speak English,” Medvedkov said.
In so doing, students gain valuable insight into the culture and social life of the country. Numerous friendships have also developed through the program as well as networking opportunities for Wittenberg students.
“We met Russians and Americans from diverse backgrounds,” Volk said. “I cannot imagine a more powerful way to learn.”
In addition to meeting with entrepreneurs developing business opportunities in Russia, leaders of political parties, students from a local university and a Russian Orthodox priest who dared to pursue priesthood in Soviet times, Volk also noted that the group met the chairman of an NGO increasing educational opportunities for orphans.
At the same time, Wittenberg alumni in Moscow hosted a number of meetings with the group. Andrea Knop ’95, who worked at the U.S. embassy in Moscow, discussed her experience as did Abby Nave ’04, who received her M.A. from the University of St. Petersburg prior to joining Wittenberg’s admission staff this year.
Vladimir Kouznetsov ’93, who runs the Moscow office of the Cleveland-based law firm Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, also hosted a meeting as did Maria Chetyrkina ’99, who works for the International Research and Exchanges Board in Moscow. Lastly, Jeff Jones ’94, general director, Russia and CIS, Dixon Valve and Coupling Company, shared his thoughts with the group at a St. Petersburg restaurant.
“The students received an inside perspective on the challenges and opportunities of working overseas in such a dynamic country,” Hudson said.
“I particularly enjoyed meeting Witt alumni in Russia who are doing extraordinary things here – taking the energy and passion for their professions developed as undergraduates at Wittenberg to make a difference in the world,” Volk added.
The experience even inspired one student to seek out an internship with a Russian focus. Mark Preston spent the rest of his summer interning with the Center for Citizens Initiatives in San Francisco, Calif., which specializes in bringing Russian delegations to the United States to educate them about capitalism and business operations.
“This trip again confirmed for me the life-changing nature of study abroad experiences, the talent of our faculty, and the character of our student body,” Erickson said.
“It was a fantastic trip – intellectually stimulating and emotionally powerful.”
The students’ new Russian friends seemed to agree.
“We hope that now you know more about not only Russia, but also about Russians and Russian lifestyles,” noted some of the Russian students in an e-mail to Wittenberg students. “You all filled our life with your light and optimism.”