WKU News

On November 21, 2021, WKU students had the opportunity to take a “trip around the world” without leaving the third floor of the WKU Honors College and International Center (HCIC) where Ekaterina Myakshina, professor of Russian, holds her classes. The students experienced the tea, sweets, and culture of Tatarstan while being fully immersed in the republic’s cultural activities and global learning.

Students discovered the cities and streets of Tatarstan with WKU’s newest Fulbright teaching assistant in Russian, Regina Valiullina. Through a PowerPoint presentation, Valiullina shared some of the most gripping sights and interesting cultural facts from her home country while students experienced foods and drinks from Valiullina’s culture. For example, students sampled Medovik (honey cake, which is a staple of Russian gastronomy) and other assortments of Russian chocolates and hard candies. The main item of the event, however, was hot tea which is popular in a variety of international cultures. Students also received other mementos from the WKU Russian Program, including Russian postcards.

Learning the Russian language and culture can be a vitally important way for students to boost their career options in international affairs, business, and government and has been named a “critical language” by the U.S. government. At WKU, students can gain proficiency in Russian through a two-year sequence of language courses offered every year. Interested in learning Russian? Reach out to ekaterina.myakshina@wku.edu or modern.languages@wku.edu for more information on how to start your language learning journey.