OCREECAS Internships

An important mission of OCREECAS is to support summer and postgraduate service internships abroad through grants.

A map of Russia and surrounding countries has a marker for each of the 7 internship locations described on this page. — OCREECAS Internship Locations

Photo credit: Google Maps

Maia Solovieva, faculty in residence and lecturer in Russian, directs the OCREECAS internship opportunities for students. She recommends that all students applying for an internship have prior experience in that country, either through study abroad or some other intimate means. The internships are meant to give students an opportunity to experience professional or pre-professional life in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (internships to Russia are not currently supported).

The completed application and all supporting materials are due by 5pm on April 10, 2024. To apply, please submit application materials (by email, as a single pdf) to Kristina Paabus, Director of OCREECAS (kpaabus@oberlin.edu).

Download the application

Moving from North to South on the map above, past internships have been held in the following locations:

The Hermitage Museum accepts a small number of students each year as volunteers to act as docents and helpers with patrons of the museum. Students are expected to speak Russian well and have a strong knowledge of the Hermitage’s collection.
The Presidential Physics and Mathematics Lyceum №239, which is a public high school specializing in mathematics and physics, has hosted Oberlin students/alums for teaching internships. Read about Drew Wise’s internship with the Lyceum.
The European University at St. Petersburg has also hosted OCREECAS internships

The language school Delta Intercontact has hosted several Oberlin students who have helped teach Russian as a world language.

The American Home in Vladimir is an organization founded in 1992, to help teach English to native Russians. American Home is also involved with numerous outside projects, including those involving economic development, humanitarian aid, and the arts. The organization’s goal is to strengthen United States-Russian relations.

Friends House Moscow is an organization that supports the rights of underprivileged minorities and provides guidance for those interested in the Quaker faith. The organization works toward greater social justice in Moscow and other parts of Russia and facilitates social and volunteer work.

The Friends House intern essentially joins their working staff for three months to help with the vast amounts of work they do. Read about Sam Skove's internship with Friends House Moscow.

The Great Baikal Trail is an ongoing project in eastern Russia to construct a path that winds around the world’s largest fresh water lake, Lake Baikal. Volunteers live in the wilderness and spend their days digging, building, and interacting with Baikal’s beautiful surroundings. Volunteers should have a working knowledge of Russian, but many other languages are spoken as well.

Oberlin students have interned with artist Anna Maximova at the Youth Theater in Taganrog.

A recent intern learned the traditions of Georgian wine making at Pheasant's Tears, a vineyard that was founded in 2007 by American painter John Wurdeman.

Photo Gallery