REEES major, Elizabeth (Libby) Chen, was one of the two moderators for CU’s Distinguished Speakers Board event with chess grandmaster and political activist Garry Kasparov. Garry Kasparov gave a talk on October 8, 2024 in Macky Auditorium to a crowd of students, faculty, staff, and community members. Kasparov fielded questions from the moderators on a wide range of questions, including growing up in Baku, U.S.S.R. (now Azerbaijan), the Russian invasion of Ukraine, being the world chess champion, and democracy. At the beginning of the event, Kasparov complimented Libby Chen’s correct pronunciation of his last name and commented that it showed that she is studying Russian language.
Libby Chen is thankful to her wonderful Russian professors, Elena Kostoglodova and Natalia Plagmann.