Career Development in the Department
Interested in professional development while you complete your coursework? Consider working for the Department. This list of job descriptions gives an overview of the opportunities students have had in more recent years while studying Russian at Bryn Mawr.
Current and Recurring Offerings
Russian Department Office Assistant
The Office Assistant will be responsible for assisting the department in implementing and maintaining Russian Department initiatives. Examples of previous responsibilities include planning guest visits; scheduling department events; creating informational materials for current and prospective students; drafting and sending weekly announcements to Russian listserv, and assisting with program advertising and recruitment. The Office Assistant may serve as the main point of contact for some of these activities and will meet weekly with the Department Coordinator to discuss assignments. The Office Assistant should expect to contribute their own ideas to each project assigned. In addition, the Office Assistant will collaborate with the Russian Club President to promote student involvement in extracurricular activities such as the Russian Table, movie nights, matrushka painting, and Russian info sessions. Other responsibilities include scanning, copying, distributing mail, and other office-related work. Other administrative tasks may be assigned.
Requirements
This is an administrative position that requires someone who feels comfortable working independently and also as part of a team. The Office Assistant must have good communication and writing skills. The position requires some knowledge of Russian. Computer skills include MS Word, Outlook email and calendar, Zoom and Teams, OneDrive, Survey Monkey or Doodle, Canva. The job is an average of 4 to 8 hours per week. This is an in-person job located in the Russian Department.
Russian Club President
The Russian Club President is responsible for planning Club activities in consultation and coordination with Russian Department curricular and extracurricular activities. The Russian Club president will organize and lead Russian language table and end of semester events in both fall and spring. In addition, the Russian Club President also organizes additional extracurricular activities such as field trips to Russian-related exhibits or performances, game nights, film screenings, Russian cooking nights, study sessions, or any other Russian-related activities that fit within the programming of the department and academic semester. The Russian Club President is also responsible for drafting and submitting the Russian Club budget request at the beginning of each semester.
Requirements
Must be proficient in Russian. Must be available to attend and lead Russian language table and other activities stated in the job description. Must be willing to promote Russian language use. Must be able to create and submit a budget for activities planned each semester. Must meet with department coordinator, as scheduled.
Archived Opportunities
Russian Language Institute Resident Coordinator
Description and Qualifications
The student activities coordinator will work with co-directors and instructors in the planning of a successful RLI program.
The student activities coordinator must have completed the equivalent of three years of Russian language study and preferably has attended a study abroad program in a Russian-speaking country and/or previously attended RLI.
A student activities coordinator should be responsible, motivated, energetic, and enjoy working with other people. This individual should keep in mind that the typical workday of 9 am to 5 pm does not apply to this job due to the responsibilities required. The individual in this position should expect times that are extremely busy and times that may not require as much work for the program to run smoothly. Previous experience as a camp counselor, tutor, Hall Advisor, or other such jobs is helpful and desired.
Responsibilities
As the title implies, the student activities coordinator assists the program in planning and running of the programmatic activities that occur pre-, during, and post program. This individual will be responsible for the following:
- Pre- during, and post-program planning: assist in set up of pre- and post-program language assessments, gather incoming student contact information and set up WhatsApp or equivalent for quick notifications, communicate to students the software requirements needed to attend remote program, assist faculty with course set up in Moodle, Zoom, and any other necessary app or software; create or update program information to give students before and on first day of program; collaborate with co-directors, faculty, and guest lecturers to schedule and set up cultural activities; send out mid- and end of program assessment links;
- Meet with and assist in planning weekly activity schedule with co-director and lead extracurricular activities coordinator; lead in planning the end of program Evening of Russian Culture;
- Hold required weekly meetings with students to review upcoming schedule and answer questions; communicate any scheduling changes throughout the week when needed;
- Attend most or all cultural activities;
- Attend weekly staff meetings and plan to report on previous and upcoming activities, concerns, or program additions;
- Resident Coordinator: resides in dorms with program participants; plan in-person programming cultural activities; serve as first point of contact for students; enforce campus and RLI program policies;
- Tutor students: schedules weekly mandatory tutoring sessions with assigned students;
- TA: the student activities coordinator may be asked to serve as a TA. TA responsibilities include updating Moodle, grading homework, and assisting in class instruction;
- Other duties as assigned;
- This position reports to RLI co-directors.
Russian Language Institute Tutor
Description and Qualifications
The RLI Tutor will work with co-directors and instructors in the planning of a successful RLI program.
The RLI tutor must have completed the equivalent of three years of Russian language study and preferably has attended a study abroad program in a Russian-speaking country and/or previously attended RLI. In addition, a tutor must have good communication and interpersonal skills in both English and Russian, and able to work with students who are at the intermediate or advanced level of Russian.
An RLI tutor should be responsible, motivated, energetic, and enjoy working with other people. This individual should keep in mind that the typical workday of 9 am to 5 pm does not apply to this job due to the responsibilities required. The individual in this position should expect times that are extremely busy and times that may not require as much work for the program to run smoothly. Previous experience as a tutor or other such jobs is helpful, desired, but not required.
Responsibilities
This individual will be responsible for the following:
- Tutor RLI students enrolled in intermediate and advanced Russian courses;
- Communicate regularly with co-directors and instructors to provide materials for effective and productive tutoring sessions;
- Work independently to manage weekly tutoring schedules and address individual students language goals and needs; Schedule weekly mandatory tutoring sessions with individual students;
- Attend weekly staff meetings and plan to report on previous and upcoming activities, concerns, or program additions;
- TA: At busy times, tutors may be asked to assist in updating Moodle and grading homework when approved by co-directors;
- Other duties as assigned;
- This position reports to co-directors.
Russian Flagship Tutor
The Russian Flagship Tutor is a conversational partner with students planning to attend the Russian Overseas Flagship program in Kazakhstan. The tutor plans weekly meetings with the students assigned to them by the Co-Director. The tutor’s role is to help the individual student improve conversational skills, but they also can assist with helping understand grammar concepts and homework if needed.
The tutor must be either a native Russian speaker or at near-native level proficiency. In addition, a tutor must have good communication and interpersonal skills in both English and Russian, and able to work with students who are at the intermediate or advanced level of Russian.
Opportunities Offered by Affiliated Departments