Genrietta Churbanova, an anthropology major from Little Rock, Arkansas, has been named the Princeton Class of 2024 valedictorian. John Freeman, a classics major from Chicago, has been selected as the salutatorian.

Churbanova is deeply engaged in scholarship related to Chinese and Russian relations. In addition to her anthropology major, she is minoring in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies, and Chinese language and culture. She was named a 2024 Schwarzman Scholar and will pursue a master’s degree in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing after graduating from Princeton.

Churbanova’s scholarship related to China and Russia also includes a summer internship through the University’s International Internship Program with the Russian International Affairs Council in Moscow, and a gap year after high school studying Mandarin in Beijing through the U.S. State Department’s National Security Language Initiative for Youth.

Freeman, whose research focuses on the repatriation of Greco-Roman art, is also pursuing certificates in German and Hellenic studies. A member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, he studied abroad in Athens and Rome.

Freeman said the experiential learning at archaeological sites and museums during his time abroad made “history come to life” in ways he had never imagined. He is now a student global ambassador for the University’s Study Abroad Program.

Read the full announcement on the University's homepage.