obstacle overcome by various generous programs—I would not have been able to develop a CV that legitimated my application to Ph.D. programs straight out of undergrad.” He offers this bit of practical advice for future modern language students: “While mastering another language is a worthy goal in and of itself, it must complement other skills, whether professional or academic. Whatever language you choose, combine it with training and knowledge of other academic disciplines or professional skills. Another language can create linkages to other cultures, countries and resources to reinforce your other interests. Russian has given me access to sociologists, artists and knowledge that I would not have had if I had not known the language. Mastery of other languages reinforces your other strengths and signals to employers that you can not only absorb massive amounts of information but that you also have the discipline to undertake such long-term tasks,” he says. “Take your passion for a language and go to where it’s spoken! And take your passion for physics or business or art! Then you have everything you need to succeed in the future.” Another alumnus, Emily Liverman ’04, a Lexington, KY, native and Russian Studies major, echoes Johnson’s sentiments. “I took Russian as an elective my first year and was completely hooked,” she explains. Her Maymester trip in 2003 “brought everything Professor Nollan taught in the classroom. Her kindness and passion for her topics really stand out. I enjoyed the small size of the classes at Rhodes, and the dedication of my fellow students in those classes was impressive,” she smiles. “After graduation, I went to the University of Texas, Austin, to get my master’s in Slavic Languages and Literature, where my thesis was on translations of poetry, especially the poetry of Marina Tsvetaeva.” Those experiences have served her well, and she currently works as the academic adviser/assistant director for Student Services at the Russian and East European Institute at
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Indiana University. She also credits the combination of classroom work, under the tutelage of professors Nollan and Kostina, with the real-world experiences of traveling and studying abroad. To current and future students of modern languages, she advises, “Spend more time in the country than I did! Seek out more opportunities to engage with the language outside of the classroom. And of course, practice, practice, practice.” Conversely, Rhodes provides a learning destination for Russian students studying English. Russian teaching assistants make up a critical part of the Russian Studies experience at Rhodes. In fact, that is how Kostina made her way to Rhodes from St. Petersburg. Zheyna Bakin was another such assistant at Rhodes. “Coming to America was a huge learning experience, obviously,” he says via a Skype interview in his native Russia. “It would not be until years later that I was truly able to appreciate all I learned there from the faculty and to a large extent, the students themselves. Being there taught me a lot of patience, which I had not any of before,” he laughs. In his current role as an English as a Second Language professor he reflects, “The students at Rhodes are so clever, so studious. And professors are not like they are in Russia, where they are very much independent of students. If the students do the work, great. If they do not, they are out.” He takes a page from his favorite professor at Rhodes, Art History Professor David McCarthy, who used songs, jokes and storytelling in addition to lecturing to reach his students, says Bakin. “I very much admire, and try to emulate, his teaching style. He wasn’t just talking about pieces of art but rather tying time periods together and explaining how those times affected the style of the pieces. He was giving us his heart with each class. It made me fall in love with the subject and it serves as my guide for my own teaching,” he says. “In fact, my experience teaching at Rhodes and taking classes at the same time serve as the cornerstone of my own teaching, especially the way Rhodes encouraged personal responsibility.” “It was at Rhodes when I knew for certain I wanted to teach for a living. And I do now. It was very eyeopening,” he continues. “It was a whole new way to reach students and approach material that I never would have known if not for Rhodes.”
SUMMER 2012 • RHODES
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