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Ivan Petrov
Freshman

In Russia, children go to elementary school at the age of 6 or 7 and graduate from high school at the age of 16 or 17. This year, RACU welcomes an “exceptional exception” to this rule: Ivan Petrov, one of our incoming freshmen, is only 15 years old!

(It is interesting to note that this extraordinary young man’s name, Ivan Petrov, is often used colloquially by Russians, much the same as Americans would use John Smith.)

Ivan began school at the age of 6 and was immediately advanced to the second grade because of his high level of knowledge. Growing up, Ivan’s outstanding abilities and skills were even evident in his favorite hobby: solving logical problems and rebuses. While a high school student, he attended special training courses at Moscow State University (MGU), participating in academic contests organized by MGU and even winning some awards. He graduated from one of the best high schools in Moscow with special honors (or a “gold medal,” as it is called in Russia). Among RACU faculty and staff, Ivan quickly earned the nickname “infant prodigy.”

Ivan is a Muscovite, though he was born in Germany when his parents worked there. Now he lives with his grandmother, mother and younger brother. Both his mother and his grandmother earned their degrees in education: his grandmother is a retired teacher of Information Technologies, and his mother is a monitor at the Christian high school, “International School of Tomorrow” in Moscow.

Ivan passed his RACU entrance exams successfully, but his mother wanted him to study at MGU – the oldest and one of the most prestigious universities in Russia. Ivan agreed to apply to MGU, but his entrance exam scores were only high enough to get him accepted in the Department of Sociology – an area that did not interest him. “I was happy that I couldn’t study business at MGU, though I was accepted to the Department of Sociology,” Ivan admits. “I wanted to study business at RACU. One day I want to start my own business and help other people to change their lives for the better.”

Together with all his family members, Ivan attends the Moscow Bible Church. He is actively involved in his church life. In spite of his young age, he has worked as a camp counselor or an assistant at a number of summer camps for kids and teenagers. The church youth leaders describe Ivan as very responsible and purposeful; he is a person who makes good, reasonable decisions. “I ask God to give me wisdom before I start doing something,” says Ivan. “My dream is to be a youth leader. By the examples set by the leaders of my church, I learn how to commit my life to God and to serve people.”