Awards & Recognition 2025
Graduating Majors
Central & East European Languages & Cultures
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Russian Language & Literature
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Russian Studies
Presley Brennan
Liam Hambel
Angelina Jeyko
Graduating Minors
Central & East European Studies
Doris Butkovic-Collier
Kenan Cackovic
Katarina Ceprnic
Aliyah McCoy
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Russian Language
Ilana Almansky
Yana Avanesyan
Lauren Brotman
Amy Cabrales
Emma Chuidian
Daria Gutin
Ella Kitt
Danella Maslobodsky
Lidia Mergelian
Francheska Privalova
Anya Yakimenko
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Russian Literature
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Russian Studies
Anna Kazaryan
David Shaya Roud
Excellence in Russian, East European & Central European Studies Award
TBD
Clara & George Vajna Award for Excellence in Hungarian Studies
American Council of Teachers of Russian Post-Secondary Russian Scholar Laureate Award
Nina Dinan
Undergraduate Research Week Presentations
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Undergraduate Research Week poster
UCLA Russian Flagship Program
Boren Scholarships: Luke Fry, Ella Kitt (yearlong Flagship capstone program in Almaty, Kazkahstan)
Fulbright Hays Scholarships: Lauren Kirkwood (yearlong RLASP studies in Almaty, Kazakhstan); Alexandra Pimentelli (fall semester RLASP studies in Almaty, Kazakhstan)
FLAS scholarships: Viola Perkins (summer studies in Tbilisi, Georgia)
Twenty Sixth Annual National Post-Secondary Russian Essay Contest, American Council of Teachers of Russian
Non-heritage speakers, Level A2: Gold medal: Viola Perkins
Non-heritage speakers, Level A3: Silver medal: Lauren Brotman and Kalia Lai
Non-heritage speakers, Level A3: Honorable Mention: Pavan Radhakrishnan
Non-heritage speakers, Level A4: Silver medal: Nina Dinan
Heritage speakers, Level B3: Bronze medal: Mikayel Shkhyan
Heritage speakers, Level C1: Honorable mention: Emma Maliar
Heritage speakers, Level C3: Bronze medal: Alexander Gavrishev
Heritage speakers, Level C4: Honorable Mention: Michelle Baram
Heritage speakers, Level C5: Gold medal: Anna Kazaryan
UC Undergraduate Conference on Slavic & East/Central European Studies Participants
Eleven UCLA students participated in the 28th annual University of California Undergraduate Conference on Slavic and East/Central European Studies
Kenan Cackovic – “Foreign Powers Influence on Bosnia and Herzegovina”
Alexandra Jankov – “Hidden Economies, Visible Consequences: Informality in the Balkan Economy”
Aliyah McCoy – “Post-Conflict Public Health: Systemic Challenges in the Former Yugoslavia”
Doris Butković – “Masculinity, Nationalism, and Identity in Yugoslav and Post-Yugoslav Contexts”
Katarina Čeprnić – “Nobelovci: The Nobel-Peace Prize Nominated Students in Serbia”
Alexandra Pimentelli – “The Symbolism of Water in Andrei Platonov’s Chevengur and Its Reflection of Revolutionary Disillusionment”
Alina Garmash – “Lost in Translation: The Preservation of Poetry Across Cultures in Boris Pasternak’s poems”
Presley Brennan – “Confined and Confused: Characters Navigating Existing and Coping within Systems of Oppression in Vladimir Nabokov’s Invitation to a Beheading and Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker”
Angelina Jeyko – “The Effect of Rock Music in the Soviet Union on the Youth During Perestroika”
Lauren Kirkwood– “Seeking Refuge and Solidarity: African Americans in the Soviet Union”
Ivana Prokopenko – “Ceding Land for NATO Membership: Ukraine’s Path to Peace or a Risky Gamble?”