Schar School Freshman, Honors College Student Defers Admission for Life-Changing Year in Kyrgyzstan

Anusha Chaluvadi could have come to George Mason University a year earlier than she did, but the new freshman deferred admission to study Russian in the Kyrgyzstan Republic.

Her participation in the nine-month National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, that sent her to the Central Asian country in her first year after high school “truly differentiated her as an applicant” to George Mason, said Eva Bramesco, director of the University Scholars program in the Honors College.

“Pursuing experiences like this in which students experience new and challenging ways of learning are perfect examples of the qualities we seek in University Scholars," Bramsco said. 

As a University Scholar, Chaluvadi is among a small number of the most motivated incoming Honors College freshmen “selected through a competitive process to join a four-year cohort of student leaders, receive a full-tuition scholarship, and participate in enhanced academic and professional development programming,” Bramesco added.

Additionally, Chaluvadi is one of the first students to declare a four-year major in International Security and Law at the Schar School of Policy and Government. The one-of-a-kind bachelor of arts degree prepares graduates to become leaders in the face of crisis and to confront major threats affecting lives of millions around the globe every day.

Chaluvadi was well acquainted with George Mason. Her sister, 2021 biology alum Pratyusha, also a University Scholar, is now in her final year of medical school at Virginia Commonwealth University. The Richmond, Virginia, native came to the school not only for the financial assistance but also for the proximity to Washington, D.C., where she hopes to land significant internships at key institutions.

As for deferring college to live and learn in Kyrgyzstan, Chaluvadi said she was inspired to learn Russian after being exposed to Russian literature.

“But when I read Russian literature, I don't think that I have a cultural context because I'm reading works in translation, so that loses a lot of the historical and cultural context that it would have if I read it in Russian,” she said. “And also, Russian-American relations are very complicated, and I think it's really dangerous to go into a government field or international field when you don't have both perspectives. So, I figured having the U.S. education is good, of course, but it's dangerous to only have that perspective.”

While learning the Russian language and enjoying the literature, Chaluvadi’s study-abroad experience also exposed her to the people living in the mountainous nation. What she learned from them resonated deeply.

“I got more of a post-Soviet perspective living there,” she said. “Talking to people there was really interesting because I think in the U.S. we hear that the Soviet Union was bad for everyone and no one liked it, which it has truth to it. But when you speak to the older generation in KYrgyzstan, a lot of them actually say that they preferred life in the Soviet Union, which is an opinion I would've probably never gotten if I didn't live there.”

A college year deferred? Clearly it was life-changing.

 “It was the greatest experience of my life,” she said. “I miss it so much every day.”