Celina “Katie” Bernhardt, Senior at Univ. of Maine-Orono, pre-law (From Bangor) “This is the 3rd Conference I’ve attended and the best so far. All speakers seem to have a close connection with Russia”, even to the point of “being very emotional about it, such as Constanze Stelzenmueller.” “It’s a valuable information source, not at all like reading foreign affairs on-line.”

Brett Welch, Sophomore at College of the Atlantic, Russian country studies (From Daytona Beach, Florida). This particular Conference had a lot of meaning for Brett, who has been “studying Russian history, culture, and language since last spring.” The speakers and discussions so far have “strongly reinforced a commitment to my course of studies and to eventually have some sort of involvement in government or foreign affairs”.

Artur Fass, Junior at Colby College, (From Tallinn, Estonia) “I’m very impressed by the speakers and their range of expertise, from American and Russian and Chinese, with points of view that you seldom get from the media. I’m thinking of becoming either a teacher, like my parents, or a medical student, an interest I picked up during my compulsory service as a medic in the Estonian army. Attendance at the Conference may not have a career impact for me. However, the information I’m getting here is very important to me as someone from a country bordering Russia.”

Click here to read all of the student interviews.