Olwen Blessing is a REECA Master's student from rural Nash County, North Carolina. Olwen graduated with distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2020, where she studied political science and Russian language and culture. At UNC, she received the Paul Debreczeny Prize in Slavic Languages and Literatures. Since 2020, she has applied her interest in political science in her professional capacity as enrolling clerk for the North Carolina General Assembly; in this role, she converted each piece of enacted legislation into its final format for ratification and presentation to the Governor and Secretary of State. At Harvard, Olwen will focus on the development of contemporary Russian political institutions.