Aliya took Russian 1-4 at Brown, hitting B1 by end of sophomore year. Then summer hit. Then no more required classes. Most language students drop the language entirely; the 2-3 years of work disappears within 2-3 years of disuse. Aliya's Russian Club wanted to prevent that for their members.
Russian after Russian 4 was supposed to mean: nothing for 6 years, then maybe study abroad junior year, then nothing again. The continuous cohort meant I never lost the language.
The 12-student cohort ran year-round including summer + winter break + study-abroad semesters. By senior year Aliya had B2 Russian + was looking at job postings in Tallinn — something she never would have considered without the cohort keeping her fluent. She took a job at a Russian-language area-studies institute. The cohort kept the language alive through the four years she wouldn't have used it otherwise.