Thomas Brenberg received his B.A. in Communication Studies and Business from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2014. He is a dual-degree candidate at the Paul O’Neill School of Public and Environment Affairs and is particularly interested in topics of national defense and the Russian military industry. Thomas has completed two sessions of the Indiana University Summer Language Workshop and looks forward to further advancing his Russian language skills.
Becky Craft graduated summa cum laude from Wayland Baptist University with a B.A.S. in Linguistics, after serving five years in the United States Marine Corps. She studied Russian at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA and studied abroad in Kyiv, Ukraine. As a recipient of a FLAS award, she has also studied Russian through IU’s Summer Language Workshop. She looks forward to continuing her study of Russian while pursuing an M.A. from REEI and an M.L.S. from the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering.
Luke Parra received his BA in Political Science from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After which, he decided to move to Chelyabinsk and then Kyiv in order to develop his language skills. Academically and professionally, his interests lie in the political interplay between the countries in the former Soviet space, especially among Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.
Daniel Schumick graduated with a degree in history and political science from Indiana University in 2019. He is a J.D. MA student focusing on the Balkans, European Union integration, and international trade. His goal is to either work at the State Department or in the realm of international trade.
Sylvia Conatser Segura studied linguistics and Russian language at Baylor University and graduated from their Honors program in 2020 after completing her thesis on orthographic reform in Russian history. Her interests include Slavic paleography and the connection between identity and orthography.
Scout Polizzotti graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2020 with BAs in Political Science and Global Studies, with concentrations in Russian Area Studies and Human Rights and Justice. After studying abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia in the spring of 2019 and completing a summer at IU’s intensive language workshop, she decided to pursue a Master’s degree in Russian and East European Studies in order to further her area studies knowledge, strengthen her language skills, and conduct research surrounding Russia’s persistent role in international politics and how the country is portrayed in Western media.
My name is Emma Strenski and I’m originally from Indianapolis, Indiana. I graduated with honors and highest distinction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May of 2018 with majors in International Studies and History and a certificate in European Studies. During the Academic Year 2018/2019, I studied and conducted research at the University of Sarajevo Faculty of Political Science in Bosnia and Herzegovina on a Fulbright U.S. Student Research Award. I am excited to return to the U.S. and to my home state and start my joint MA in REEI Area Studies and JD program. My career goals include working as an attorney for the Foreign Service in U.S. Embassy’s around the world.
Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies