Congratulations to Our 2024-2025 Graduates!
Celebrating our graduating class who have completed their Russian language journey with us. Their dedication and achievements inspire our entire community.
To the graduating class of 2024-2025 at Russian Language & Arts Charlotte—congratulations!
Today we celebrate your remarkable achievement. How much of your free time and intellectual effort you have invested over the years! How many essays written, poems memorized, and books discussed. You've earned this moment.
Your Journey
Many of you started as young children, barely able to write the Cyrillic alphabet. Now you graduate as confident bilingual speakers, readers, and writers. Some of you have earned four full years of high school world language credits through our program—an achievement that will open doors as you move forward in your education.
This year's graduates faced their own unique challenges and rose to meet every one. You balanced American school demands with Saturday Russian classes. You persisted when grammar felt impossible and celebrated when poetry finally clicked. You made lifelong friends along the way.
More Than Language
At RLA, we've always believed that learning Russian is about more than vocabulary and verb conjugations. It's about connecting with your heritage, understanding your family's stories, and carrying forward traditions that span generations. You now hold something precious—a living connection to culture, history, and identity that no one can take from you.
We've watched you grow from students who struggled with basic phrases to young people who confidently present in Russian, who read Pushkin for enjoyment, who can speak with grandparents in their native tongue. This transformation is what makes our work meaningful.
Looking Forward
As you step into college and beyond, remember that your Russian doesn't end here. Use it. Speak it with family. Read Russian news and literature. Watch films. Travel, if you can. The world needs people who can bridge cultures, and you are now among them.
The digital age gives us instant access to information, but the knowledge passed from teacher to student, the wisdom gained through years of study—this remains invaluable. Carry it forward.
Our Gratitude
To the parents who drove to Saturday classes year after year, who helped with homework, who believed in the importance of heritage language—thank you. Your children's success is your success too.
To our graduates: you've made us proud. You've proven that with persistence, anything is possible. Now go show the world what bilingual, bicultural young people can achieve.
До свидания, but never goodbye. You'll always be part of our RLA family.
With pride and warm wishes for your future, Russian Language & Arts Charlotte
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