Penn Arts & Sciences Pathways: Daniel Shevchenko, C’25 (Video)

Daniel Shevchenko, C’25, entered Penn with an interest in linguistics and computer science but became more interested in political science after his first year. “Political science kind of started growing on me because I was interested in the politics of Russia and Eastern Europe, where I have strong cultural and familial connections,” he says. “When the war broke out in Ukraine, that continued to keep me interested in political science.” 

Shevchenko spent his junior year studying abroad in Barcelona, where he developed a keen interest in multilingualism. “Barcelona and the surrounding region of Spain are well known for being bilingual, with both Spanish and Catalan,” he says. During this time, he took a course on language policy, which sparked his curiosity about how immigrants who speak different languages interact with the governments of their host countries. This led to a thesis project that examines how native Russian speakers living within the European Union, Ukraine, and Moldova navigate speaking Russian since the Russian/Ukrainian War began in 2022. 

When he’s not working on his thesis, Shevchenko enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with friends—many of whom are international students at Penn. An avid traveler, he recently visited Germany and Czechia. He’s also involved in Penn’s Linguistics Society, and serves as a 2024-25 Perry World House Student Fellow.

Pathways is a student series from Penn Arts & Sciences that highlights the academic journeys of students in the College of Arts & Sciences, showcasing the transformational moments that shape their intellectual experiences.