Congratulations to the winners of the 2020 CARTA (Central Association of Russian Teachers of America in cooperation with Russian Cultural Center in Washington D.C.) Essay Contest “US – Soviet Relations During World War II: The Path to Victory over Fascism”. All the universities across the United States participated in this contest. UCF participants were from the first and second year of Russian program and high schools students from the summer STARTALK program. The winners are below and they will be also recognized at the Awards Luncheon at the national CARTA Conference.
- College division:
- Gold Medal: Cadet Sarah Whitley from the U.S. Air Force Academy
- Silver Medal: Eric Nall from the University of Central Florida, and George Kapitan from the University of Tulsa
- Bronze Medal: Benjamin Giltner from the University of Central Florida, and Dmitriy Loza from the University of Tulsa
- Pre-college divison:
- Gold Medal: George Dyer from Rockledge High School, STARTALK, FL
- Silver Medal: Douglas Dyer from Rockledge High School, STARTALK, FL
The Russian language program students have been collaborating with two Russian schools in the International Project “Connecting Classrooms” for many years (Lyceum #7 in Novocherkassk, Rostov-on-Don region for 10 years and Moscow City University for 4 years). Every year the students from both countries work on different international projects through e-mails and Skype conferences. This year the students have worked on a project titled “US – Soviet Relations During World War II: The Path to Victory over Fascism”. As a result of these project collaborations, UCF students were able to enter their own essays in the national essay contest “US – Soviet Relations During World War II: The Path to Victory over Fascism”, which was organized by Central Association of Russian Teachers of America (CARTA) in cooperation with Russian Cultural Center in Washington D.C. Essay submissions included both a college division category and a pre-college division category for high school students. UCF students from the summer STARTALK program (pre-college division) placed first and second in this national contest. Additionally, UCF students from the Intermediate Russian group (college division) received second and third place. In collaboration with Moscow City University; Moscow, Russia (Director Dr. Tatiana Makarova) in spite of COVID-19 both groups have worked on a creative video based on the topic above. Please watch this beautiful, collaborative, creative work between two universities where the students express their wish to live in peace and friendship. https://yadi.sk/d/8LIoRveIswhslQ
