About me:
I was born in Gorky, Russia and lived in Yaroslavl, Russia,
until I was 5. My family immigrated to America, and I've been an
American citizen for about 10 years. I still speak fluent Russian
(thanks to my parents.) I grew up in the Harrisburg area and went
through thoughts of being a geneticist, writer, graphic designer, and
chemist, before I decided to become an economist in high school.
The
pivotal point of my decision was when I went back to Russia four years
ago to visit my aunt in Yaroslavl and was even more shocked than I
thought I would be by the abject poverty and desperation of the
people. I decided then that all of my career moves would lead to
learning how to make an economic difference for people.
Another
pivotal moment for me was discovering my Jewish roots and going to
Israel. While there, I felt immediately at home and decided I would do
everything in my power to become involved in Israel activism. Since
then, I have become almost fluent in Hebrew and I spent last summer
interning at Bank HaPoalim,
the biggest bank in Israel. My proudest achievement was giving blood
during the Israel-Lebanon conflict. I hope to become a dual
Israeli-American citizen sometime in the near future.
