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
Ella Kitt
Aliyah McCoy
Clara & George Vajna Award for Excellence in Hungarian Studies
TBD
Ilona and István Garai Award for Excellence in Hungarian Studies
Emilya Henschel
Grace Tan
Marcus Tomlinson
Quentin Werkler
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
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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?”
2025 California Graduate Slavic Colloquium Participants
Four UCLA students participated in the 2025 California Graduate Slavic Colloquium
Emilia McLennan
Anatoli Ulyanov
Elena Makarova
Galiia Sadykova