Q: What are your thoughts on how the school year is currently going?

A: “It’s going pretty well. My grades are good, I’m satisfied with my grades. I’ve had some good experiences, made some new friends; so, so far it’s going pretty well.”

Q: Any goals for the rest of the year?

A: “Possibly get more involved in the community, get involved in extracurriculars, continue to work hard and do my best in school as I have been doing so far.”

Q: Goals for GPA?

A: “Hopefully, I can get a 4.0 for semester 2, keep my GPA going up.”

Q: What’s been your best/ worst experience so far in high school?

A: “My best experience, I think learning about topics that I’m generally interested in and classes like Law and  Government. I also liked the Weightlifting class, because I think I improved my strength in that class. I feel like I gained something from that class. So just generally, classes that I think make me better as a person and teach me about topics and skills that I actually see myself using in my future.”

Q: So about weightlifting, why were you into weightlifting? What appeals to you about physical fitness?
A: “It’s a class that I took my Freshman year to get my personal fitness credit. I liked it and I was interested in it because I think that it’s good to improve on your strength. I also took personal fitness my Freshman year and I think that class [weightlifting] pushed you harder because it set mandates. I remember the final was squatting your weight, benching your weight, and running (I think) a sub 7:30 Mile. It sets milestones for you. I don’t know for sure, but I know that I improved my benching weight by 20 Pounds. Seeing that progress, I think it’s very good and it’s like self-progress that I can measure.”

Q: You said a 7:30 Mile. Are you considering running Cross Country ever?

A: “Probably not. It’s never something I’ve been interested in. Yeah, I don’t think so.”

Q: Who would you say your favorite teacher has been? Who’s been your favorite teacher so far?

A: “I’ve had a lot of good teachers. I’m grateful for that. I would have to say Mr. Face. He’s my AP Government teacher and my IB Global Politics teacher. I would say that because he teaches the topics that I’m the most interested in and I’ d say he teaches them well. He’s very knowledgeable about the topics and the class activities we do are appropriate and help me learn about those specific topics. I think he pushes me as a student. Whenever I present ideas he always plays “devil’s advocate” to challenge my thinking and push my knowledge.”

Q: Learning a new language is tough. I believe that English is not your first language. Is that correct?

A: “That’s correct. Russian is my first language.”

Q: Are English and Russian similar at all or are they completely different?

A: “That’s really hard to say. I would say English is my primary language and it’s been that [way] for awhile. Russian was my first language. When I started Montessori (I don’t even know how young I was), I learned to speak English there. I speak Russian with my family, specifically with my Mom and my Dad and I have one Russian friend who I communicate with in Russian. All other communication I do is done [in] English. I’d still say [that] my Russian is pretty good. When I [go] back to Russia, people compliment me on my Russian. But as far as similarities and differences, I think Russian is a much more difficult language. You have to conjugate verbs and adjectives, which isn’t as advanced in English. Few learn about Russian. You learn that it has some of the most difficult grammar laws. Russian grammar is said to be very difficult. I think English grammar is very basic. We don’t learn much about it in school. Russian grammar is very difficult and there are a lot of rules.”

Q: Are you literate in Russian?

A: “I can read pretty well. With writing, I wouldn’t say that I’m that good.”

Q: How much of your family lives here and how much live in Russia? Would you say that the majority lives here?

A: “No. My immediate family lives here. I have a cousin who immigrated here and I have a great aunt who immigrated here. So my Mom’s Dad’s sister and my Dad’s sister’s son immigrated here, but all [of my] other family lives in Russia.”

Q: How often do you visit Russia?

“I’ve visited Russia four times in my life and it’s always been in the Summer. Most recently I visited in the Summer of 2019.”

Q: Would you say you prefer Russia or America?

A: “I definitely prefer America. I have serious issues with Russian culture. I think that a lot of people in Russia are non-accepting of homsexuality and they view people with mental health issues as inferior. In general, a lot of people describe Americans as really polite. I would say that Russians are very rude, even to strangers. I don’t know why that is, but I just don’t like it. I think Russia’s history is more interesting, because America’s only been around for less than 300 years. I think Russia has a very interesting culture as well. I would still say I appreciate America more. I would say [that] it has a larger impact on my identity.