Emily Hackett graduated from Connecticut College in 2023 with degrees in international relations and Slavic studies, and a minor in German studies. Her undergraduate research focused on educational exchange during the Cold War, specifically between former Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, and the Soviet Union. Emily has spent a significant portion of her life and research in the Czech Republic, having extended her scholarly experience as a Gilman Scholar in Kyiv, Ukraine in the fall of 2021. She is a two time recipient of the US State Department's Critical Language Scholarship for Russian, for which she most recently studied in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in the summer of 2023. Emily's current research revolves around the impact of soft diplomacy, especially educational projects, on diplomatic relationships with and within the post-Soviet space.