877.247.6978
Give OnlineAnna '26
Majors: International Relations; Russian Literature, Language and Culture; Music History and Cultures
Orange Trivia: President for the University’s Ukrainian Student Association and a Global Ambassador who assists students who are interested in studying abroad.
“My scholarships are only possible because of the incredible generosity of donors. I would not be able to attend Syracuse without their support, and I have been able to pursue so many additional opportunities, each having a direct impact on my future.”
Describe your Syracuse experience.
I have been so blessed to be surrounded by incredible faculty and friends at Syracuse. Not only have I found a home in each of my academic departments, but I have found community through various extracurricular organizations, such as the Ukrainian Student Association and the Syracuse Abroad Global Ambassadors program. These days, it’s impossible for me to walk anywhere on campus without running into someone I know. Even in a large student body, I always feel at home.
Tell me about your experience studying abroad.
I studied on the Syracuse Abroad program Exploring Central Europe in the Fall 2023 semester. We were based in Wrocław, Poland, and traveled around the country during our signature seminar. We also participated in short expeditions to Slovakia, Czechia and Germany. Our studies were truly interdisciplinary. I chose to focus on public memory, war memorials and cultural expression by people in diaspora. In addition, we learned about the history of Central Europe, World War II, the Holocaust and the Russo-Ukrainian War. I was deeply moved by our visits to the sites of the Treblinka, Auschwitz and Lety concentration camps, and the resulting conversations we had about collective responsibility, complicity and institutionalized evil. While writing my UrbanLabs article on Belarusian refugee communities in Wrocław, I had the chance to attend a festival titled “Cultures in Exile.” This preliminary experience in ethnographic fieldwork brought me to the conclusion that I wanted to pursue a future in Ethnomusicology, which I now plan to pursue in postgraduate studies. Truly, my experiences traveling and learning across Central Europe were transformative, and I am a better person because of them.
What has been your favorite Syracuse experience so far?
My favorite moment on campus so far was the 2025 Arts and Sciences Research Festival. I took a course on Russian Art and Protest and decided to focus my studies on the 1980s rock band KINO. It included a translation project, lyrical analysis and historic research. For the festival, I created a poster and prepared an oral presentation. Not only was I given permission to speak about rock music for three hours, but I received an award from my department and will be able to further develop the research to be considered for publication. It was also a special moment for me as I was amazed by how many of my friends, classmates and professors came to support me that day. Those memories are very dear to me, and I will carry them as I continue on my academic journey.
How has donor generosity impacted your time at Syracuse?
I understand that my scholarships are only possible because of the incredible generosity of donors. To put it frankly, I would not be able to attend Syracuse without their support. Not only have I been able to attend, but I have been able to pursue so many additional opportunities, each having a direct impact on my future. I am now working on my third independent research project, which I will use in my applications to graduate school. I fell in love with my field of study during a transformative experience on my first time studying abroad, which was also my first time traveling to Europe. In a few months, I’ll be studying abroad a second time, which I never thought would be possible. Everything circles back to the generosity of alumni, and I aspire to give back to my community through everything I do!
Why do you think giving is important?
Without the generosity of our donors, I would not have had the opportunity to study at a secondary institution. I always knew I wanted to pursue a future in academia but knew that financial barriers could be a challenge for me. Today, I am not only able to complete all four years at Syracuse, but I will also have studied abroad twice and conducted four years of independent research by the time I graduate. This has set me up for a bright future in graduate school, where I will study to become an expert in my field, and hopefully return to a secondary institution as a professor. The generosity of donors has also inspired me to give back in any way I can. I try to attend every Global Ambassador event I can, with hopes that students I connect with will also have a pivotal experience studying abroad. I do my best to advise my peers and share resources with them. I also love discussing research topics with friends and faculty in my program. These moments are truly enriching, and I am beyond grateful for the generosity of our donors, as their support is what allows me to continue making these connections every day.
What does it mean to you to be Orange?
For me, being Orange is all about the Syracuse community. It’s about supporting your peers in any way you can–through assistance, through conversation, through showing up for important moments. It’s about the faculty who invest their time and energy into our students’ growth as learners, writers and researchers. It’s about the conversations that make you think and reevaluate yourself, growing as a person and learning more about the world around us. It’s about committing yourself every day to improving the experience of one another, on our campus and in our community. It’s more than any one class, one event or one organization. It’s about what we can do together– because we’re Orange.