From Ann Arbor to Budapest
Sometimes life leads people far away, only to meet others who come from familiar places. That's what happened with three alumni of the M.A. program in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, who are all currently assigned to the United States Embassy in Budapest, Hungary. Pictured above are David Kostelancik (’88), Deputy Chief of Mission; Douglas Dykhouse (’97), Management Counselor; and Ryan Aiken (’09), Political Officer.
Here are some thoughts from these Foreign Service Officers about the impact their University of Michigan degrees had on their careers:
“While my focus with Professor Gitelman and Michael Kennedy was on Roma in Czechoslovakia, I gained from them broader and even Hungary-focused knowledge which I continue to draw from now as I serve as Charge d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest.” -David Kostelancik
“Whether serving in Central Asia, the Balkans and now in Central Europe, I have returned again and again to what I learned during my CREES program for a deeper understanding of the region. And through that understanding I have become a better servant of American foreign policy.” -Douglas Dykhouse
It's quite a coincidence and a thrill for those of us at CREES to see these alumni who graduated over a span of three decades working in the same Embassy. Go Blue!
