I currently work as the Director of Programming and Training for Peace Corps/Kyrgyz Republic and am based in Bishkek.  My comments here reflect my personal experience and point of view and do not represent those of the Peace Corps.  

Tell us how you got there.  

When I completed my MA, the Great Recession was just starting, so I ended up temping in both Columbus and DC for a while before deciding to apply to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. I had known about the Peace Corps since college, but I had never been drawn to serving before. At a time when jobs in my field were out of reach, joining the Peace Corps seemed like a good opportunity to continue to grow in the field and increase language fluency while I waited for the job market to improve. I was assigned to eastern Ukraine, where I taught English at a pedagogical foreign language institute.  To this date, it was the best decision I have ever made! It expanded my personal and professional networks and enriched me with life-long friendships.  

After completing Peace Corps service, I landed a job with American Councils working on the EducationUSA program and moved once again to Moscow, Russia. I used my experience in teaching, mentoring, and project management to lead a team of local staff members throughout the country and encouraged engagement from US education partners (including at The Ohio State University!). Shortly after the annexation of Crimea, I relocated to Kyiv to continue my job from there. I eventually took on the regional portfolio for the program and expanded my work to 13 countries in Eastern Europe, the Baltics, and the Caucasus. I worked on the EducationUSA program for 11 years in total and left that position shortly after the full-scale invasion in 2022.  

The federal hiring process can be very long, and it took nearly 18 months from the time I applied to be contacted for my first interview. My current position is very similar to my last one.  I work closely with local staff, specifically those focused on programming and training, but I have the added bonus of training and supporting the Volunteers who chose to serve in the Kyrgyz Republic.  

How has your Center for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies MA helped you throughout your post-graduate life?  

I have been really fortunate to work within the CSEEES field for all of my career so far, but it is hard to point to individual, specific ways the program has helped me in my post-graduate life. It introduced me to project management, fostered an environment for language acquisition and fluency, provided courses to deeply examine the region’s interethnic relations, and provided life-long friends.  

Is there anything you wish you had done differently at The Ohio State University?  

I would have taken more courses in project management as part of the interdisciplinary degree. I really enjoyed the one course I took during my MA, but I ended up needing to further develop these skills on the job. I eventually got my PMP certification, and project / program management continues to be the primary focus of my career.  

What was your focus or research interest when you studied at The Ohio State University?  

I was mostly interested in ethnic minority rights in the former Soviet Union and focused on Uzbek-US-Russia relations. As part of the FLAS Fellowship, I studied Uzbek during my first year on campus. The second year of my degree I studied Russian language in Moscow, where I also completed an internship with the UNHCR.  

If you are a traveler, what is one of your favorite trips you have taken?  

I have been fortunate to travel a lot with my past positions, but these days I mostly travel around the Kyrgyz Republic for hiking, skiing, or to visit Volunteers at their sites. It is easily one of the most beautiful places I have lived. Traveling above the Arctic Circle in Finland, hiking the Stoos trail in Switzerland, or taking a guided tour in Bukhara are among the most memorable trips.  

What are your future plans?  

Peace Corps is a term-limited agency, but I still have a few more years before I time out and need to decide on what the next adventure will be. Eventually, my husband and I will move back to the US with our three Kyrgyz street cats to be closer to our friends and family.