Senior Spotlight: Victoria Siek (BA ’26, history and Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies with minors in art history and Jewish studies)
“The historical training I have received at Illinois will have a profound impact on my career. While at Illinois, I truly delved into the discipline of history, and more broadly, the humanities. I believe this discipline, unlike any other, cultivates a unique skill set essential for engaging with an increasingly divided world, particularly at a time when the value of history and the humanities is so often overlooked.” - Victoria Siek
Awards
In her time at Illinois, Victoria earned various awards, including the FLAS Fellowship in Polish - Highly Ranked, the C. Ernest Dawn Undergraduate Travel Award, a research support grant for Summer 2025, the Jane and Richard Burkhardt Scholarship for Outstanding Undergraduate Achievement, and the Robert H. Bierma Scholarship. She was also a Ronald Filler Scholar in Fall 2025, a James Scholar in the Honors Program, and was on the Dean’s List in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
RSOs & Research
Victoria served as president of the English Student Association. Her research focuses mainly on the impact of the Holocaust and World War II on Polish and Jewish populations, with a gendered focus on Polish-Jewish identity during the post-war period. She is most interested in the intersection of gender and Polish national mythos, especially as it relates to Polish-Jewish female identity.
Favorite memory
Her favorite memory has been the journey of writing her thesis, including studying abroad in Kraków, Poland, to conduct research and bonding with her thesis cohort.
Plans after college
Victoria plans to attend graduate school for history or Slavic literatures and languages.