"The massive language gains in short periods of time and the resulting ability to have meaningful conversations with people from various cultures and mindsets fuel my desire to engage in diplomatic work in my future career."

Kristine Carrillo is currently a 3rd year Economics major and Russian language minor at UCLA. After beginning her study of Russian in the fall of her second year, she soon joined the UCLA Russian Flagship Program to develop her skills and explore opportunities to use her language abilities outside of the classroom. With her interests spanning over macroeconomics, domestic and international politics, and national security and diplomacy, Kristine is planning on applying to the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California after her Flagship Capstone year in Kazakhstan. Aspiring to work within the U.S. Department of State, she hopes to study economic trade, diplomacy, and translation.