Having discovered a talent and passion for languages and travel during high school, I eventually continued my studies of Russian and German through to university, where I predominantly developed my knowledge through nineteenth and twentieth century literature and film. As part of my undergraduate degree, I spent a year living in St. Petersburg and Vienna, getting a first-hand glimpse into the Russian and Austrian ways of life and thinking. 

Translation formed a large part of my undergraduate studies, mainly of literary and journalistic pieces, and so, wanting to explore this discipline further, I continued to study it at Masters level. In doing so, I not only gained practical experience, particularly through modules focusing on the translation of scientific and technical texts, but I also gained a fundamental appreciation for this art form and the philosophy behind it. For my final dissertation project, I translated a sample of Russian author, Andrei Astvatsaturov's debut novel, Люди в голом (People in Nude), which I hope to be able to publish in the not-too-distant future. 

Alongside my studies, I have been working as a volunteer translator for Watching America, translating Russian opinion articles for an American audience as a means of observing domestic events from a different point of view. I am also working pro bono for the TRL Global Foundation, which is attempting to set up a new cryptocurrency aimed at improving levels of social end economical equality across the world.