Project Updates

The US Department of State and IREX welcomed 144 Muskie Fellows to the United States at a two-day orientation program on August 7-10, 2006 at Gallaudet University's Kellogg Conference Center in Washington, DC. The orientation program included sessions on succeeding in graduate school, finding an internship, and overcoming culture shock. Also attending the orientation were several 2005 Muskie Fellows, who were able to share their experiences and "lessons learned" with the newly-arrived fellows. The orientation concluded with a reception at the Hart Senate Office Building.

Yuliya Melnyk, a 2005 Muskie fellow from Ukraine who is studying for a Master's degree in Journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia, performed her summer internship in the Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room of the Library of Congress. Melnyk's responsibilities included reviewing bound collections of Russian newspapers from 1801 to the present, describing their quality and historical or journalistic importance, and providing a determination as to whether they were significant enough to be included in the Library's historic events collections.

Tolkunbek Abdygulov, 2006 Muskie Fellow from Kyrgyzstan, and Yelena Butova, 2006 Muskie Fellow from Turkmenistan, represented their home countries during the homecoming parade for the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. The Muskie Fellows joined other foreign students at the University of North Texas in a parade of nations that is part of the procession before the homecoming football game.

On the 6th of October, the University of Mississippi held its annual Homecoming weekend and football game. Since 1924, Ole Miss has always hosted a Homecoming weekend and football game. Homecoming is a special time for Ole Miss because this is a time when graduates, alumna, and current students build floats and participate in a very colorful parade, marching slowly from the University Circle down University Avenue to the main historic square in Oxford, MS.

Two Muskie fellows working on their Masters Degrees in Education at the University of Lincoln, Nebraska, have recently delivered a paper with other students and faculty at the University Council of Educational Administration (UCEA) Conference in San Antonio, Texas. Farida Aghammadova, a 2005 Azerbaijani Muskie fellow, and Alesia Krupenikava, a 2005 Belarusian Muskie fellow received good remarks for this submission and have submitted it to be published in the Proceedings of the Conference workbook that followed.

Artyom Geghamyan, an Armenian Muskie Fellow recently hung his national flag in the IUPUI Law School Atrium. Artyom said, "As far as I know I am the first Armenian student in IUPUI Law school and I think that's why the flag of Armenia was not there before." Just before the Thanksgiving break the IUPUI Law school Administration initiated the hanging of the Armenian flag in the Law School Atrium among the other flags of the international Law students at IUPUI that were already present.

Gohar Harutyunyan, a 2005 Muskie Fellow from Armenia studying at the University of Maine, participated in the Business Plan Competition at the University of New Brunswick, Canada from November 29 to December 2, 2006. Ms. Harutyunyan’s group’s idea was to introduce organic Armenian dried apricots, tomatoes, and prunes to Canadian consumers. Their group designed a logo, flyers, and conducted comprehensive market research and financial analysis. Ms. Harutyunyan also talked to possible suppliers in Armenia.

2006 Muskie Fellow Ovezmurad Agayev represented Turkmenistan at the University of Washington’s Cultural Fest in November. Mr. Agayev, who studies law, set up a booth featuring Turkmen hats, bags, carpets, books, postcards, DVDs, and CDs. Among the booth’s visitors were school groups, UW faculty and students, and area residents. Mr. Agaeyv used the opportunity to share information about his country’s natural resources, geography, and culture.

In March, 2007, Svitlana Batsyukova, a 2005 Ukrainian Muskie Fellow studying public administration at the University of Washington, attended the ACJS (Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences) Meeting in Seattle, where she chaired a session called "Dealing in Humans" and presented on the results of a study entitled, "Detection and Prosecution of Human Trafficking-Related Crime." The study focuses on Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. This was the second time that Ms. Batsyukova chaired a conference session on the human trafficking issue. Ms.

Maria Musatova (Muskie ’05) has played with the Lady Eagles hockey team of American University in Washington, DC for two seasons. This year the team won the championship for the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference. In addition to her achievements on the ice, Ms. Musatova was honored with an All-American Academic Award by the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA).