Profile: Erin Alpert '07, Russian and Post-Soviet Studies
The time I spent at the College greatly influenced both my career
path and who I am as a person. The people I met there, both friends and
professors, continue to be a significant part of my life. I think it's
important for alumni to remain connected to the College and to help foster
those kinds of connections for current and future students.
I majored in Russian and Post-Soviet Studies at the College, and my professors were excellent examples of teachers as well as mentors - a role they continue to play, even though I'm no longer "officially" their student. Now, as a graduate student, I hope to teach at the college level when I complete my degree.
One of the highlights of my college career was definitely my summer study abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia. I loved having the opportunity to live with a host family, study in a Russian university, and explore the country whose language I had been studying in the classroom. Without the scholarship I received from the Reves Center, I wouldn’t have been able to participate in the program.
Even though as a graduate student I don't have much extra to spare, I always find a way to contribute to the Dobro Slovo Scholarship Fund so that other students can have the same opportunities that meant so much to me when I was at William and Mary.
Alpert is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Pittsburgh. Last year while Alpert was in Moscow conducting research for her dissertation, she met with William and Mary study abroad students to share her research and graduate school experience. The Dobro Slovo Scholarship Fund was established in 2004 to support study for a W&M undergraduate through the department's summer program at St. Petersburg University.
