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Sophia
Johnson ’03
Sophia
Johnson in Ukraine, 2004 |
The year after
she graduated from Smith with a sociology degree focusing
on Russian civilization, Johnson returned to Ukraine, where
she has visited many times, this time as an Election Observer
with the , an international
coalition of 56 nations.
While there, she
observed Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, an uprising of
protest in response to allegations of corruption and electoral
fraud during the country's 2004 presidential election.
As a Fulbright
scholar this fall, Johnson will return to Kyiv, Ukraine’s
capital city, for her research project “Examining the
Catalyst for the Orange Revolution.”
Johnson, who is
of Ukrainian descent, first visited the country in 1990, when
it was part of the Soviet Union, and has been back several
times since. “I have been able to observe social change
as it has occurred over time,” she says. “It has
been remarkable to witness the evolution of political and
economic infrastructure over the course of 15 years. Kyiv,
for example, has morphed from a dreary city plagued by constant
shortages to a modern eastern European capital.”
Johnson
with OSCE |
Since graduating
from Smith, Johnson has also worked as a legal assistant in
Boston and, most recently, in New York City, representing
detainees at Guantanamo Bay. She plans to enter law school
upon her return from Ukraine in 2007.
Wherever her path
leads, part of her heart will always remain in Ukraine, Johnson
says. “I was raised with romantic stories of the old
country. Although my heritage initially drew me to the country,
Ukraine’s political and economic history is very different
from other Soviet bloc republics and understanding these subtle
distinctions became my focus.”
-ESW
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