De’Vonte Armond Tinsley

De’Vonte Armond Tinsley is from Roanoke, Virginia. He currently majors in Russian and History, with a minor in Russian area studies. De’Vonte is on a 3.8 GPA. He was raised partially by his mother and partially by his great-grand parents. With his great-grandfather being a pastor and a civil rights leader in Roanoke, he inspired an early interest in history and politics for De’Vonte. As early as fifth grade, this would contribute to his new-found interest in Russian and Soviet history, and ever since, he knew he wanted to learn Russian and do something with the language. De'Vonte says, the best thing about being a black student at Virginia Tech is shattering people’s assumptions and preconceived notions about blacks- their personality, intelligence, and background. He believes that being at Virginia Tech, and showing people what black people can do if they are allowed to and given the resources to succeed, is an amazing feeling.

His Post-Virginia Tech aspiration is to earn his Ph.D. in Russian History and become a professor of Soviet History, focusing on minorities in the Soviet Union and their role in the Russian Revolution and Civil War.

De’Vonte also serve as the president of the Russian Club at Virginia Tech and additionally for the last three years have worked as an editor for the Virginia Tech Undergraduate Historical Review. He says, his role model is his great-grandfather, Reverend Carl Tinsley because he always strove to be kind to everyone, even those who were not kind to him. A preacher for over 40 years, he lived by the motto: Turn the other Cheek. Additionally, He never saw his great-grandfather get angry, and no matter the situation, he remained calm and level-headed. During His free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and their three cats. He also enjoys learning Russian and reading or watching documentaries on Soviet history.