We are very happy to welcome Masha Kozhevnikova, 20, to Carleton as this year’s Russian Language Associate. A fourth-year student at Moscow State University, Masha is studying Russian language and literature with a concentration in teaching Russian as a foreign language. She grew up in Kaluga, a provincial city about 110 miles southwest of the capital, before moving to Moscow to attend a prestigious public high school in the 9th grade.
Masha says she’d never considered teaching Russian in the US until one of the administrative assistants in her department suggested she should look into Carleton’s program near the end of last school year. Several phone calls, stacks of paperwork, and weeks of waiting later, she was on her way to the United States for the first time. She arrived on September 5th and has been settling into campus life very well.
“There’s always so much to do that I really don’t have time to miss home!” she says. In addition to her responsibilities as a language associate, which include tutoring, hosting a Russian radio show, and running weekly Russian teas and lunchtime conversation practice, Masha has been busy rowing with the Carleton Crew team, keeping up with her American Studies class, and making friends with both Carleton students and the other language associates.
“Everyone here is so nice, always ready to help,” she comments, and notes Carleton students’ “quirkiness” as one of their most endearing characteristics. She also gets a kick out of “all those marvelous squirrels” running all over campus, which she has taken to counting on her way to class. At home Masha enjoys whitewater kayaking and other outdoor activities, playing the guitar, going to the theatre and the movies, and hanging out with friends, and we hope that she will continue to share these talents and interests with us throughout her year here.