Interview with Graduate Aleks Cwalina

­­­­You’ve studied widely in Slavic Studies during your four years here. What drew you to the field as a first-year student?

It was interesting — I thoroughly liked learning languages and initially came to UW-Madison expecting to major in linguistics and journalism. Having moved from Poland to America in 2006, I started out somewhat familiar with both Slavic languages and culture, but felt somewhat distanced from the “broader” trends and cultural backgrounds, having learned everything second-hand through my mother. I initially took a couple courses related to the field for fun, but as I went on with my college career, I found out that they meshed very well into what I wanted to do in the future and my overall academic interests in political science and international journalism.

I also decided during my first year that my freshman year was dedicated fully to taking courses in whatever sounded interesting (so I wouldn’t feel like I missed out once major requirements and deadlines started hitting my junior/senior years). First semester, that led me to the Russia and the World FIG. All the courses sounded interesting and I thought to myself, “sure, I’ll take Russian for a semester for fun” — expecting for it to be a one-off thing my freshman year.

Well, once I got to know the amazing faculty and fellow students in both the Russian language and Russian Flagship programs, I knew I had to join. I continued Russian all four years and joined Flagship the following spring semester. This led me to interact and work with various professors, faculty, and students in the larger CREECA environment through the weekly CREECA talks and related lectures, which drew me further into Slavic Studies. Eventually I shifted into political science, and took every opportunity to take classes on both political and cultural studies of Central and Eastern Europe. I ended up also getting a certificate in German as well as REECAS and European Studies certificates.

What courses or experiences related to Slavic Studies have made a strong impression on you?

I would characterize all my courses in Russian language as being fun, engaging, and informative in all their own ways, with a special shoutout to Professors Anna Tumarkin, Karen Evans-Romaine, and Sara Karpukhin for guiding me along the way. Though the pandemic limited the scope of some extracurricular activities, I also have fond memories of the intensive summer Russian sessions and the (online) study abroad through Herzen University in St. Petersburg.

Beyond language classes, I loved Professor David Danaher’s courses on Slavic Science Fiction and the Culture of Dissent in Czechoslovakia and Poland — he mixes both literature and cultural studies through selected media with broader political and social trends in East Central Europe in a fascinating way that is accessible for both those adept in Slavic studies and those who are complete newcomers. I left all of his classes having learning something new about Czech, Russian, or Polish history, a new perspective or approach to something I’ve already known or read, or a new must-watch or must-read book. Heis clearly passionate about what he teaches, which translates to very engaging classes!

What might you say to students who may be thinking of taking Polish or Russian and/or topics courses related to these languages and cultures?

I would say go for it! I would recommend for everyone to take at least one course that they’ve been thinking about (that is otherwise unrelated to their field) or one that is totally out of their comfort zone if they’re able. All the Slavic Studies faculty are amazing, engaging, and welcoming. If you’re like me, you might find out that this is the right discipline for you. If not, then you’ll still have a blast and come out with a new skill or a new perspective on either language study or Eastern European history/culture.

Congratulations on graduating! What’s next for you?

Thank you! So far, I will be in Washington DC for the Wisconsin in Washington Summer 2022 cohort, where I will be interning with the Wilson Center, an international policy think-tank. I plan on staying in DC for the foreseeable future and will be looking into something full-time in either think-tank work or directly with the European Union or US international governmental bodies. After 2-3 years of professional work, I plan on looking to get a masters’ in European Studies or something similar in either the DC area or in Europe (I’m looking at Brussels, Germany, or Poland particularly). But we’ll see! If there’s anything COVID taught us, it’s to be flexible and expect plans to shift!