What's New - Spring 2005

RACU SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT TO STUDY AT U.S. UNIVERSITY

The RACU Awards committee is happy to announce that Tatyana Ivaschishina, a second-year Business and Economics student, has been selected as the next Calvin College Scholarship recipient. Tatyana is originally from the small town of Yelnya, a 1000-year-old village about 80 kilometers outside the major city of Smolensk. She began her studies at RACU two years ago, and she has consistently proven herself an outstanding student in all of her classes.

Tatyana not only excels in her studies, she is also very active in her church, teaching Sunday School to a group of twelve 8-10 year olds each week (10 of whom are boys!). She also works on Saturdays with an organization that is developing teaching materials and books for use in ministry to orphanages. In the future, Tatyana would like to start an interior decorating business in Smolensk.

Tatyana is someone who genuinely contributes to the community life at RACU as well, and the other students will miss her next year, when she leaves RACU to study at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “When I first found out about the scholarship,” Tatyana says, “I was overwhelmed. But then, I realized that I should be at peace and just learn as much as I can – in my studies and about the culture of America. It is a great opportunity!”

The Calvin College Scholarship was established in 1998 by two members of RACU’s Board of Trustees to provide an opportunity for one RACU student each year to spend his or her junior year studying at Calvin College, with all of their expenses paid. Tatyana is the eighth student to win this scholarship. Receiving the award is a real honor for Tatyana, because she was chosen from a pool of truly outstanding students. Students who have received this scholarship in the past have returned to Russia with a new perspective; their experiences at Calvin have really helped them to move forward in building solid careers in Russia.

The current Calvin College Scholarship recipient is Elena Yurkova, from RACU’s English Department. Elena is loving her time in the States. “Calvin is amazing,” she said recently. “I absolutely love it. A lot of people ask me here: ‘Which do you like more: Russia or America?’ But I always say it is impossible to answer this question. These two countries are so different. And this experience in Calvin helps me to understand more about my own culture, to realize who I am, to recognize my identity deeper. Here at Calvin I have been learning about how to build relationships, how to treat people right, how to take care of your friends, and how to make my own decisions. I am very grateful to God that He let me be here and to those people who provide my scholarship. I think I will carry this experience throughout my whole life.”