ELIZABETH DEWEY HIGH (Russian). Elizabeth finds her knowledge of Russian very useful in her teaching of ESL in Boulder, Colorado, and she has begun the study of Spanish in order to increase her effectiveness in this field.

KARINA DUEBNER (Russia-centered independent major in international relations). After graduation, Karina lived and worked in New York, Moscow and London, as an investment banker for Salomon Brothers, where her native German and excellent English and Russian served her very well. She left investment banking behind in 2001 and went on a 12-month journey through the Middle East and Central Asia. Back in London now, Karina is building her fashion label, Tamerlane's Daughters. She still visits Moscow regularly.

SHAUNE FOSTER (Russian and Political Science). Following graduation, Shaune began work for the Motorola Corporation, and her duties have included sales and service of the company's products in the new Central Asian nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

JENNIFER JACOBSEN (REES and History and Physical Education). Besides Russian studies, Jennifer's other undergraduate passion was athletics. Her career path has taken her in the latter direction. Jennifer earned the M.A. in sports psychology and cultural studies of sports at the University of Iowa. She is currently coaching track & field/cross-country at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI. She can be found discussing Russian literature with athletes on our bus trips (one guy recently read "The Overcoat", one of Jen's favorites), getting tutored in Slovak by one of LU's international students, and is considering taking "Men in the Storm of History" (Russian men during WWI as seen through literature) during winter term.

KIRK JOHNSON (Russian and Political Science). Since graduation, Kirk pursued joint degrees in law and Russian area studies at the University of Michigan. He then practiced law in Las Vegas and then Minneapolis. He recently left private practice of law to become in-house counsel for KONE Corporation, a global company that manufactures and services elevators, escalators and moving walkways in over 100 countries. They're based in Finland, although Kirk have not gotten to go to Finland yet, most of his colleagues have. He's been there since July.


LEANN JONS-COX (REES and General Science-Chemistry). ...

MAYA MALYSIAK (Russian and American Studies). Aided by a Russian Study Award, Maya spent her first year after graduation working for Project Harmony in Petrozavodsk, Russia. Maya taught English to schoolchildren in Petrozavodsk, and in that capacity she was a successor to WENDY JOHNSON '93. When the 1996 Grinnell College Study Tour of Russia arrived in St. Petersburg, Maya joined the group and shared her experiences with the traveling students. Returning from Petrozavodsk to her hometown of Seattle, Maya worked for commercial and cultural organizations with links to the Russian Far East. When last heard from, Maya was seeking to return to Russia for employment or volunteer work.

JENNIFER MCGRUTHER (Russian). ...

ANNE PITTS (Russian and Biology). ...

MATTHEW REDMOND (Russian). ...

ALEXANDRA RHETTS (Russian). ...

CHAD STUCHIS (Russian). Aided by a Russian Study Award, Chad spent the first year of graduation living and working in Irkutsk, Russia, under the auspices of the Iowa-based Rural Enterprise Adaptation Program. During the following year, a Rotary Scholarship allowed Chad to study for an academic year at the St. Petersburg University of Economics and Finance. Chad is currently pursuing graduate work in agricultural economics at Iowa State University, and he hopes in the future to play a role in the many links connecting Iowa agriculture with Russia.

KAREN VAN GILDER (Russian). After working as a park ranger at the Sitka National Historical Park, a park dedicated to Russian-American and Thingit history, Karen decided to pursue a master's degree in planning, with a focus on historic preservation. She recently completed her M.A. degree at the University of Virginia, and has joined the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington D.C.