College

By Isaac Green Sports Editor

When Assistant Professor of French Anna Navrotskaya agreed to teach an independent study of Russian at Hillsdale, she knew she was saying yes to more than instructing students in her native language. She was helping to preserve her culture.

“It’s been a long time since I left Russia, but I grew up speaking that language, reading that literature, and playing that music,” Navrotskaya said. “In a very profound way, I am culturally Russian. If I can do something, even a little tiny step to preserve that culture, I should, and I’m happy to.”

Three students now meet twice a week with Navrotskaya to study the language, two of them for credit. But at the beginning of the semester, Navrotskaya’s only student was senior Stella Webster.

Webster approached Navrotskaya about the study when she began considering pursuing Russian studies after graduation.

“I wanted to take Russian because I really love Russian history, but one of the prerequisites for doing that at a higher level is to know the language,” Webster said. “Since Hillsdale didn’t have a Russian program like they do with other languages, I thought, ‘I guess I’ll have to do it some other way.’”

Webster didn’t have to look far, since she and a small group of students already met with Navrotskaya weekly on Tuesdays to speak the language.

“We met once a week, and those who could speak already spoke to each other and those who didn’t speak at all just tried to learn a little bit,” Navrotskaya said.

When Webster decided that she wanted to pursue a formal study of the language, she Navrotskaya, and the professor agreed to talk to the registrar and organize the course.

Shortly after Navrotskaya began teaching Webster, sophomore Brennan Slade joined the independent study under the encouragement of his advisor, Jeffrey Hertel, an assistant professor of German.

“I was looking for other language options, and he told me that Dr. Navrotskaya offers an independent study of Russian and that I should email her just letting her know I’m interested,” Slade said. “I started in the second week of school.”

Slade’s interest in Russian springs from his love of the language itself as well as the culture and history that come along with it.

“I’ve always just had a personal interest in Russian,” Slade said. “I like the way it sounds; I think Cyrillic is a really neat alphabet. I think Russian culture and Eastern European culture is something that is not widely known or appreciated, and to have a chance to study that further here was a really neat opportunity.”

Navrotskaya said that she has tutored and given private lessons in Russian before but has never taught the language at a university level.

“It’s a different feeling for me because Russian is my native language,” Navrotskaya said. “It’s more difficult because I don’t immediately know an explanation. I have to give it a thought. In French it’s easier because I went through my learning the same way my students are doing now, so I can anticipate questions or difficulties and I know what an explanation is.”

According to Navrotskaya, Russian can be a toxic subject on some college campuses because of the current political situation in Russia.

“That’s not my Russia, and it’s not the Russia that millions of people know, love, and would like to preserve,” Navrotskaya said.

Navrotskaya said that she hopes to be able to change that perception of Russia and its culture by teaching the language.

“If a student comes and says, ‘I want to learn Russian,’ I say, ‘Of course,’” Navrotskaya said. “Hopefully I can show or teach or share something that I know about Russian culture that goes completely against what the current Russian government is doing.”

For Navrotskaya, providing an authentic image of the culture helps to keep the present state of Russia from becoming its future, too.

“There are several prominent Russian writers who are now outside of Russia and had to emigrate, and many of them say that what is happening in Russia now primarily destroys Russian culture,” Navrotskaya said. “For those of us who find ourselves outside of Russia, it becomes our position, our job, our heritage, to preserve.” presenting recitals is a primary way that music faculty can stay current in their field.

I a presented current and experimental solo percussion repertoire that challenged me technically and intellectually, and also included the use of multimedia technology.”

Now remarried, Jones spends her time outside of work caring for her family while preserving time for her many hobbies, which include landscaping, golfing, and cooking.

“Teaching at Hillsdale is very humbling — to see the students that are investing so much in their education. I especially am in awe of the musicians that continue to cut away pieces of their time from academia for their passion for music,” Jones said. “Being around that elevates me, and I want to make sure that I’m there for my students at the highest level when they need it.”