Name: Taylor Valley
Graduation: 2017
Majors: Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies; Political Science
Minor: Spanish

When I first enrolled in Miami University I was undecided. I took Russian 101 because I wanted to try something new and thought it was an interesting language. Originally I only wanted to make Russian my minor, but I really enjoyed my Russian 101 class and my professor encouraged me to make Russian, Eastern European & Eurasian Studies my major. This is one of the best decisions I have made during my time at Miami.

As of now, I’m not sure what I want to do with my REEES major, but I really enjoy learning about the region and studying the Russian language. I will study abroad in Fall 2014 in St. Petersburg, Russia, where I’ll be studying Russian, political science and history. I hope my experiences there will help me figure out how I would like to apply this major to a future career. I already studied abroad Summer 2013 through the Havighurst Workshop: City, Society and Culture in the Baltics. We visited St. Petersburg, Russia; Tallinn, Estonia; Riga, Latvia; and Vilnius, Lithuania. It was any absolutely incredible experience. I enjoyed my time in Vilnius the most, but I would definitely like to visit these cities again.

During my freshman year I applied to be a Havighurst Junior Fellow, and I have been awarded many opportunities through my acceptance into this program. I received a one-time scholarship and take private Russian lessons twice a week. This is my favorite program within the Russian department because it encourages us to attend related lectures and become more active in it. There are many great opportunities within this department, and I look forward to becoming more involved.