The Looming Departure

By:

Harrison LeFrois

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Privyet! In less than 36 hours, I set foot on a plane to begin one of the biggest adventures of my life.

My name is Harrison and I’m a senior math major at the University of Nebraska in Omaha. I’ll be spending this fall semester studying in Moscow, Russia at a program called Math in Moscow (MiM). It is an incredible honor to represent my school and FEA at this program.

Here’s the MiM link for those that are curious: https://www.mccme.ru/mathinmoscow/

It’s a small and selective program; this semester there are only 13 students, all from North America, participating. They offer many advanced courses in math and computer science, and this provides me with the opportunity to strengthen my foundation before entering graduate school for math. Not only will I learn a huge amount of really cool mathematics, I get to study Russian in an immersive environment. I have loved foreign languages for a very long time, so to say that this fulfills a long-held dream is an understatement.

It feels like only yesterday that I was meeting with the study abroad advisor to discuss what my options were. I had no money to go abroad, wasn’t sure what to do, but I knew that attending Math in Moscow would be the best thing I could do for my math career at this point. Miraculously, I was accepted to MiM and received enough funding to pay for the whole trip: living expenses, airfare, and tuition. Definitely blessed beyond what I could imagine.

There are many aspects of this trip that I am excited about. I am looking forward to meeting other students that are as excited about math as I am, living in a Russian speaking environment, and really expanding my abilities in spoken Russian. This trip will also be a huge opportunity for growth, both personally and academically. This will be the first time that I have been in an academic environment that is this challenging (and intimidating). It will also be my first time navigating everyday life in a non-English speaking environment.

All this makes for the most challenging semester yet, but I am ready.

Harrison LeFrois

Hi! My name is Harrison LeFrois and I am a senior mathematics major and nontraditional student at the University of Nebraska Omaha. After graduating from high school, my life had little director or purpose. Eventually I took some college courses because that was what was expected of me, however, I drifted away from school and dropped out after two uninspiring years. I was one of the nameless, faceless, rabble going from one low paying job to another. At the age of 26 I discovered my talent for math and returned to school with a fervent passion to finish my degree. Despite all the hardships attending college as a nontraditional student, my life experiences and maturity have helped me make the most of every opportunity that has come my way. Studying abroad is an experience I never even considered until this past semester because I did not think it would be financially feasible. At the prompting and encouragement of my professors, I looked into study abroad programs and decided to go to Russia because I had taken Russian language classes before and dreamed of experiencing Russian culture firsthand. Miraculously, I was accepted into the Math in Moscow (MiM) program in Moscow, Russia for the Fall 2014 semester. The intense mathematical environment at MiM will prepare me for graduate school where I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in mathematics. I love math and the Russian language and this will be a wonderful opportunity to learn advanced mathematics and continue my progress towards fluency in Russian. I am immensely grateful for this opportunity to learn and to serve.