Pacifica Stories

Describe your studies and time in London. What do you love about school and London? What is your master’s thesis on? What has been your favorite class? Why?
I have been living and studying in London for a little over a year. I first arrived here last September to start a master’s program at King’s College London in Russian and Eurasian politics and economics. Over the course of the year, I learned about Russia’s transition from communism to capitalism in the 1990s, the role of natural resources in the economics and politics of various post-Soviet states, and the challenges hampering Russia’s global engagement. One of my favorite classes was “The Politics of Energy Security in Eurasia” because it focused on Russia’s and Eurasia’s place in international energy markets and how countries are actively adapting their energy sectors as the transition to renewables picks up. After my classes ended in May, I began working on my dissertation, which sought to uncover what motivated Germany to strongly support and finance Russian/Soviet gas pipelines throughout the last fifty years despite heavy opposition from the United States.
 
My favorite thing about studying at King’s College London was the program’s small size, which allowed me to get very close to my fellow students and professors. When we were not in class, my classmates and I would go to restaurants or pubs or hang out around the city. Since we all lived in different parts of the city, I had the opportunity to spend time in the less “touristy” parts of London. Another benefit of being in a small program is that we got to spend quality time with our professors at various department events or the pub after class. This allowed us to develop a strong community.
 
Describe your time at IU. What did you love about it? Describe your studies
After graduating from Pacifica in 2017, I moved to Bloomington, IN, to start my undergraduate studies at Indiana University. At IU, I majored in Eastern European languages and cultures (with a focus on Russian language and culture) and minored in Russian and Eastern European studies. Before I started there, I knew I wanted to do something related to Russian history or politics due to a family connection, but I wasn’t sure exactly. Shortly after classes began, I was introduced to a new program called the Russian Flagship. This program promised to help me reach a near-fluent proficiency in Russian within four years and would culminate in a fifth-year capstone year abroad in Almaty, Kazakhstan. I immediately enrolled in it and saw my linguistic and cultural proficiency grow more rapidly than I had imagined. Here is where I made most of my friends and memories while at IU because it was a relatively small group, and we were all focused on the same goal of improving our knowledge and understanding of Russian culture, history, and language. Throughout the academic year, we would gather to hang out, celebrate American and Russian holidays, advertise the program to students at academic fairs, and go out into the local community to share our knowledge.
 
Outside of the program, I loved living in Indiana because I got to experience things I never had growing up in California. For example, my first winter there ended up being one of the coldest on record thanks to the 2019 polar vortex, which saw temperatures drop to -20ºF. Another thing I enjoyed about living in Bloomington was its proximity to beautiful forests and lakes, which made for great day trips in the spring and summer. I would definitely recommend studying out of state, especially in a college town like Bloomington, because you will get to meet so many interesting people from all over the country and experience weather that will make you grateful for growing up in California.
 
What are your current interests? What do you enjoy about them? Could you describe any traveling you have done and what you learned? What are your goals for the future?
Currently I am enrolled in the Graduate Diamonds Course at the Gemological Institute of America here in London. It is only an eight-week program, but it is highly intensive and giving me the necessary foundational skills to pursue many careers in the diamond industry. Some skills I am learning are how to judge and grade diamonds, how to identify if gemstones are lab grown, and how the market works. I am still determining whether I will pursue a career in this industry. Regardless, I plan on applying these skills to the knowledge I already have to enhance my understanding of Russia and commodities markets.
 
Besides studying, I also enjoy traveling, which I have been able to do a lot of since arriving in London. One of the many perks of living in London is that I am close to numerous exciting and interesting locations in Europe and North Africa. Airline tickets are also very affordable due to competition between airline companies. This January, I spent a few days in Albania solo-traveling and visiting many interesting museums and places in one of Europe’s less traveled destinations. This summer, I was lucky to spend some time traveling with my older brother, who also went to Pacifica. We went to Lithuania for about a week to see a Dua Lipa concert and visit the homeland of some of our ancestors.
 
Following the conclusion of my current program, I plan to look for jobs either here in London, back in the United States, or somewhere on the European continent. One of my main interests is the energy sector, primarily oil and gas, so I would like to pursue a career in this field as a commodities trainer or consultant for companies or governments. Since I started college, it has been a dream of mine to live and work in Russia so that I could perfect my language skills and gain firsthand experience of what life is like in that part of the world. I hope that the current conflict is resolved soon so I can make my way over there to start the next phase of my career.
 
What did you appreciate about Pacifica? How did Pacifica prepare you for college and life, and what are you doing now?
One of the biggest things I appreciate about the school is the strong community and the fact that everybody has a place and face there. This manifested itself in a few ways. First, the small classroom sizes and attention to the Socratic method of learning let me interact intimately with my fellow students and teachers and helped me develop the analytical and communication skills necessary to have an intelligent debate or discussion and effectively vocalize any concerns and questions I had. Second, the school’s commitment to inclusion was special to me. For example, if I had attended the local public high school, I would have never had the opportunity to play sports; however, at Pacifica, everyone is encouraged to play whatever sport they want to and given a chance to prove themselves. Because of this, I could play basketball and baseball, and while I was not exceptional at either of them, this is where I met some of my best friends.
 
Finally, I appreciated Pacifica’s emphasis on faith and pushing students to cultivate their own beliefs. I liked that teachers would let students who might not believe in God express their opinions and encouraged students to ask hard questions to create dialogue and force us to challenge our ideas. Moreover, I also enjoyed the weekly chapel sessions because it was a time for everyone to come together for an hour and have fun singing and learning. I know that if I had not attended Pacifica, I would be living a very different life right now and would not be as prepared for life as I am now. I truly appreciate every minute I had at Pacifica. I recommend that current and future students do all they can to be involved in the school community because it is a great place. They’ll never forget the memories they make there.