This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at JHU chapter.
- Name: Jessica Terekhov
- Major, Year: English (of course!), 2016
- Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Affiliated with: JHU English Club, Hopkins Undergraduate Research Journal (HURJ), JHU Ballroom Dance Club
- You can probably find me… reading.
- The best thing about Hopkins is… I love close to everything about Hopkins. One of the first things that come to mind is the environment. It’s important to be both challenged and accepted by close peers, and I find that Hopkins students have an ideal dynamic.
- Something I’m especially proud of is… having achieved fluency in written Russian. I’ve spoken Russian all my life, but only learned the print alphabet in middle school. Writing requires knowledge of Cyrillic script, which I taught myself upon entering college. Three years and several Russian seminars later, I can read and write pretty well!
- Something most people don’t know about me is… I’m an active Goodreads member! Goodreads is an online community of readers, but I use it mostly to review books and learn about authors and, well, good reads. It’s the bookworm’s digital habitat – I recommend you join!
- This year, I hope to… attend as many faculty lectures and colloquia as I want. I’ve usually made the obvious sacrifice for schoolwork, but there are fascinating discussions happening outside of class hours, open to undergrads.
- In five years, I will be… finishing my Ph.D. – if I’m extremely proactive about it.
- Next up for me is… applying to English graduate programs!
- Relationships Status: Engaged to Sydney Carton.
- If you didn’t know, November is National Novel Writing Month! What’s your favorite novel? Always a difficult question for an English major! My favorite author, unconditionally, is Charles Dickens. As for novels, I have long-standing affection for “The Three Musketeers” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.” “The Age of Innocence” blew me away a little more recently. I had an obsession with “Don Quijote” last year…
- How did you get involved with the JHU English Club? During the spring of my sophomore year, the Director of Undergraduate Studies in English approached all majors and minors about reviving the English Club, whose leaders had graduated the previous year. Two seniors and I took up the cause. The club has since been steadily recovering, and is currently co-led by Emily Karcher (English, 2017) and me.
- What should readers know about the JHU English Club? We’re not a book club… unless you want us to be! Our goal is to embrace and encourage interest in literature, however specific, varied or cautious it may prove at a place like Hopkins. We strive to be as inclusive as possible, so please send us your ideas! If you’d like to see the English Club host a particular event or offer some opportunity, let us know at jhuenglishclub@gmail.com. We’re looking for members from all disciplines, so get in touch to be added to our mailing list, too!