The 34th National High School Russian Essay Contest was held on November 18, 2015. Nationally, 49 students competing on the advanced level received Gold Medals; one of these medals was awarded to Cherokee senior, Zachary Fithian.
The 49 gold-medal essays were then forwarded to Professor Mariya Borisovna Kataeva at the Pushkin Institute in Moscow for a second round of judging.
On April 6, Fithian was awarded a Silver Medal in this international round of judging. Fithian is currently taking AP Russian Honors at Cherokee. The course is one of only 30 high school Russian AP courses offered in the United States.
