Svetlana Kononenko

Being raised by a single mother in a provincial Russian town, I am adept at setting goals and striving to achieve them, despite the challenges I have encountered. As a minority within my own country’s administrative division, Adygea Republic, I have always strived for diversity and inclusion of identities, experiences, and ideas. With such a mindset and a strong passion for natural sciences, I sought opportunities to enrich my scientific environment and learn from the expertise of an international community. I applied to and was accepted to study at an international school on scholarship, which allowed me to travel across the world at age 17 to study for two years in Singapore at the United World College of South East Asia. The education at UWC led me to an opportunity to continue my education in English and become a part of the vibrant St. Lawrence University and rural Canton communities. During my time at St. Lawrence, I have successfully completed my professional training in Neuroscience and Anthropology and enriched it by studying abroad, participating in Tanner fellowship, Internship fellowship, and SLU Fellowships. Owing to comprehensive and unique training provided by St. Lawrence University, I have been offered a position at Trudeau Institute - a top-notch biomedical research facility, where I currently serve as a research technician.