Student Snapshot: Xander Danielson ’23
Xander Danielson ’23 loves to learn languages—and he’s a gold medalist in the Western Pennsylvania Olympiada of Spoken Russian competition. Below, he discusses what drew him to Dickinson, recalls his experiences Zooming with students in Russia and more.
Hometown:
Easton, Pennsylvania, but I was born in Lima, Peru.
Major:
Clubs and organizations:
Russian Club.
Honors/scholarships/awards:
Gold medal, Western Pennsylvania Olympiada of Spoken Russian.
Best thing about my major:
The faculty are exceptional. They set Dickinson apart from other colleges.
Favorite book:
Heart of A Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov.
Favorite movie:
The Searchers.
On choosing Dickinson:
I had chosen another university, where I received a large scholarship to major in Russian. Then I was accepted at Dickinson, visited the campus, met Associate Professor of Russian Alyssa DeBlasio—and I immediately changed my mind and my plans.
Favorite place on campus:
The Waidner-Spahr Library.
Favorite Dining Hall food:
Pizza.
Favorite class/learning experience:
Writing papers for Professor of History Karl Qualls’ Russian history class. When I am an old man, sitting in my rocker, and somebody asks about my college experience, I will tell them how I learned to write.
If I could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, it would be …
… Tolstoy. I have read so much of his work during the past three semesters. I have so many questions, and I need answers.
Favorite professor so far:
I earned an A in International Relations, so I know not to answer this question. I have been fortunate to have exceptional professors during my time at Dickinson. They went above and beyond during the era of Zoom.
Favorite class so far:
Any Russian, Italian, Spanish or French class. I love learning foreign languages.
As I kid, I wanted to be …
… a helicopter pilot.
Post-Dickinson plans:
Maybe join the Peace Corps or USAID. I want to help people in developing countries.
Little-known hobby/talent:
I have a huge national and huge international flag collection. I am familiar with the flags and capitals of every country.
Proudest accomplishment so far:
The only class I ever missed was a Russian 102 lab.
Best thing about my Dickinson experience:
The best thing about my Dickinson experience will be returning to campus after one-and-a-half years of being exiled by COVID. I lost 50 pounds on a steady diet of Zoom.
On living, studying and traveling internationally:
I studied Russian for two consecutive summer courses with students from The Russian Higher School of Economics and the Russian State University of Humanities. As a middle schooler, I spent four years in an international school in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The highlight was making a public-service announcement, with my younger brother, about wearing masks. We spoke in Russian. He will now attend Dickinson.
Most important thing I’ve learned so far:
I learned how to Zoom with Russian students in Russia, and I learned how to change my Zoom background to correspond to the course subject.
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Published August 13, 2021