Unalaska, AK – Russian language students from the high school recently traveled to Anchorage for the Russian Language State Competition. Bianca Barrera won the gold medal for the level one competition and had the highest score out of everyone. PJ Sherebernikoff won the bronze for the level three through five section, and Aaron Sours received an honorable mention. They challenged 167 students from around the state.

Each student had to recite a poem and give a short oral presentation about themselves, both in Russian, and answer questions about Russian culture, civilization, and history.

Sherebernikoff said the competition was hard for him because of his shyness. "Even though I was very shy and I stuttered during my presentation, they gave me really high praise and said that I was really fluent and my pronunciation was correct. And I enjoyed the food there after I was done."

Sours said the experience was fun and influential beyond the competition. "But all in all it was really cool because some people came from St. Petersburg on foreign exchange to Chugiak, and they showed up to the competition to talk in general and to socialize with us. I thought it was really cool conversing with them."

Barrera started taking Russian just this year because she was looking for a challenge. She already speaks fluent Spanish as well. She said she enjoyed learning Russian dances and songs.

"After we ate we went upstairs and sang two Russian songs. One was about animals in Africa and the other was about friendship."

The competition took place in Anchorage on March 20 and only included Russian language learners.