Q: How did your Slavic studies prepare you for your future career? What was the most important thing you learned?
A: I have been teaching Czech and Russian even before I came to the University for a degree.. I continued doing translation and interpreting in the court system in Canada. Nowadays I still have private students for Russian.
Q: How did your Slavic studies contribute more generally to your life?
A: I am a Slav, and already had a good knowledge of literature and history in Russian and Czech. Slavic studies helped me to expand my knowledge of other Slavic languages and literature, and Old Church Slavonic. Nowadays I have been writing Czech articles to the Czech newspaper Novy Domov, and literary criticism in English.
Q: What did you do immediately upon graduation?
A: Teaching, translating and interpreting.
Q: What advice would you give to graduating students, or to students thinking about the Slavic program?
A: Keep up with these ancient languages, whose etymologies themselves will help you to connect with many other languages, out of all expectation. The heydays for Russian is gone, but be prepared just on the basis of your general education, and the degree, to start anything and continue searching for more appropriate and inspiring work. Offer your services as translator and interpreter, or put together lectures about Slavic languages and the history of Slavonic countries for the general public.