ADA, Okla. – East Central University’ Russian Studies Program recently held its annual Dobro Slovo induction ceremony to close out the spring semester. This year, four students and one alumnus were inducted into the National Slavic Honor Society.

The 2026 inductees included students Jesse Barker, Rafael Charqueno, Madison Hawkins and John Kelso, along with alumnus Jonathan Willett.

Introductions were made by Dr. Joshua Grasso, the ECU chapter’s co-sponsor, followed by a review of the past year by Dr. Mara Sukholutskaya, the chapter’s other co-sponsor and director of ECU’s Russian Studies program.

Opening remarks for the induction portion of the ceremony were delivered by ECU chapter President Olivia Hunley before each new inductee participated in a poetry recital, where each recited a prominent Slavic poem in Russian.

Madison Hawkins recited “Snowfall” by Yunna Morits. Jesse Barker recited “The Color Blue” by Nikoloz Baratashvili. Jonathan Willett recited “To Friends” by Alexander Pushkin. Rafael Charqueno recited “The Crow and the Fox” by Ivan Krylov, and John Kelso recited “Babi Yar” by Yevgeny Yevtushenko.

To conclude the ceremony, Barker was named the new president of the ECU Dobro Slovo chapter, followed by a reception.

Dobro Slovo was originally founded as a local Slavic honorary society at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1926. In 1963, with the help and encouragement of the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL), Dobro Slovo became the National Slavic Honor Society.

Since 1963, Dobro Slovo has grown into an internationally recognized academic honor society with a distinguished membership, currently boasting more than 130 local chapters and a total membership of 6,200. The society recognizes academic excellence in the study of Slavic languages, literature, history and culture, and encourages continued scholarly interest in Slavic life.

-ECU-