Written by Colin McEvoy | July 14, 2025 | SHARE
Russian university students are experiencing American campus life, culture, and community firsthand this summer through the SPARK program at Lehigh University.
Valeriia Loseva has dreamed of visiting the United States since she was 12 years old. Now, eight years later, the Moscow-born ecology student is living that dream—exploring American culture and nature firsthand as part of a summer program at Lehigh University.
“I’ve always really admired American nature,” said Loseva, 20, who studies environmental engineering at Siberian Federal University at Krasnoyarsk. “That was the main reason I’ve always wanted to come here—to experience it for myself.”
Loseva is one of five students from Russia visiting Lehigh through the Summer Program for Academic Research and Cultural Knowledge (SPARK) program, which allows Russian college students to immerse themselves in communities across the United States while taking academic courses, exploring American society and culture, and becoming engaged volunteers.
Reflecting on different cultures
“SPARK gives students the tools to think critically about American culture while also reflecting on their own,” said Mark Ouellette, Director of the International Center for Academic and Professional English (ICAPE). “It’s about creating space for dialogue, discovery, and shared understanding.”
Loseva plans to visit Niagara Falls, New York City, and Washington, D.C. She had expected the U.S. to be very industrial and technological, and while she feels American universities are more technologically advanced than Russian ones, she was surprised to find everyday life in the U.S. similar to that in Russia.
Anastasiia Loginova, 20, of Moscow, had also wanted to visit the United States since childhood, and jumped at the opportunity to participate in the SPARK program. A linguistics student at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute, she has been impressed by the Lehigh campus and the ways it’s different from university life in Russia.
“We have kind of a different structure of campus back home, but when we saw the campus here for the first time, it really impressed me,” Loginova said. “Maybe I can bring back home with me some of these thoughts and insights about education, and how it can be built differently from what we have.”
Analyzing the American Dream
The students are taking different credit courses during their time at Lehigh, including technical entrepreneurship, political science, and computer science. The curriculum also includes service learning, experiential activities, and volunteer opportunities that go beyond the traditional classroom.
For example, the students visited the Moravian King's Sons & Daughters Retirement Home on July 11 to visit and speak with residents there. Later that day, they also attended the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University in Center Valley, where they saw a production of the Lorraine Hansberry play A Raisin in the Sun.
Ouellette also designed a special course for SPARK students titled ENGL 012: University Life & Language, which uses their activities as a lens to explore contemporary interpretations of the “American Dream.”
The course engages students in critical reading, writing, and service-learning experiences while encouraging them to reflect on questions such as: Who are Americans? What are their diverse histories? How do they perceive themselves and others? And how do they understand their place in the broader world?
“The idea of the American Dream is central to our discussions,” Ouellette said. “We ask students to consider what it means today, how it has evolved over time, and whether it’s still attainable—or even the same—for everyone.”
Experiencing American culture
The SPARK program at Lehigh runs from June 30 to August 8. In addition to their studies, participants have opportunities to visit American cities, national parks, and other locations.
Ivan Kurochkin, 20, who studies Siberian Federal University, is visiting the United States for the first time through this program. He particularly enjoyed visiting New York City, participating in a walking tour of Moravian historical sites in Bethlehem, and bicycling in Allentown.
“I feel very safe on the Lehigh campus, and both Bethlehem and Allentown are very nice and clean cities,” Kurochkin said. “I wanted to see Americans, to know more about American culture—how they celebrate, how their mindset works, how they think and make decisions. It’s been an excellent experience.”
ICAPE helps multilingual speakers of English improve their communication skills with flexible, student-focused program options that are grounded in evidence-based practice and connected to the resources of the larger university community.
Students from Step Up Reading & Vocabulary, a course offered by ICAPE Language Specialist Mike O’Neil, also joined SPARK students in their visit to Moravian King's Sons & Daughters Retirement on July 11.