Noah participated in the CLS advanced Chinese program in Guangzhou in the summer of 2014 after his sophomore year at Amherst College. Even after living in China for a year prior, the CLS Program had a great impact on advancing his Chinese language proficiency. After returning to the United States a…
Alumni Profile — January 30, 2020
“The CLS Program is what helped me form my own identity, which helped me be a better representative of both the United States and India. Growing up in an Indian household allowed me to connect to my CLS community, and foster mutual understanding.” Avan Antia participated in the CLS Hindi program in…
Alumni Profile — January 21, 2020
“CLS was a turning point in my life. It wasn’t just a trip to another country to learn a foreign language. On the contrary, it was a trip of cultural understanding, personal growth, relationship building, and a milestone to my personal identity.” Vanessa Huerta was a participant in CLS Russian in …
Alumni Profile — January 21, 2020
“Being awarded the Critical Language Scholarship was a special moment for me as it allowed me to finally learn Bahasa Indonesia in a formal setting and connect with my Indonesian family.” Annisah Smith participated in CLS Indonesian in 2015 and 2016 in Malang, Indonesia. She grew up in Kuala Lumpu…
Alumni Profile — January 14, 2020
“After the CLS Program I spent the better part of a decade working in ex-Soviet Central Asia, which is how I ended up in D.C. working on international development programs. Russian has been essential to every job I’ve had.” Matt began studying Russian as an undergraduate at Pennsylvania State Univ…
Alumni Profile — January 08, 2020
“From a young age, I became interested in learning languages and exploring the cultural differences that shape the way we think about the world. The CLS Program solidified those interests and inspired a clear career pathway for me.” Radhika Arora’s interest in the Middle East started when she was s…
Alumni Profile — January 02, 2020
“My CLS experience sent me in an entirely new direction of learning and research. I am now a scholar of East Africa and the Indian Ocean.” When Janet started to study art history, she was primarily focused on West and Central Africa. After learning that her university offered Swahili classes, she b…
Alumni Profile — December 13, 2019
Erik Hornberger always wanted Japanese to be a part of his career, but as a busy graduate student in Electrical Engineering at the University of Kansas, there wasn't enough time to participate in semester study abroad programs. Fortunately, the CLS Program was short enough to fit Erik's academ…
Alumni Profile — December 10, 2019
Amanda Barbour participated in CLS Arabic program in Tunis, Tunisia in 2010 as an undergraduate student at the University at Buffalo. “[Participating on the CLS Program] influenced the trajectory of my study. I completed my undergraduate work shortly after my summer in CLS and eventually went on t…
Alumni Profile — December 04, 2019
Rena participated in CLS Chinese in Changchun, China after graduating with her master’s in public health in 2018. She has had a close connection with China throughout her life as a second-generation immigrant and heritage speaker of Chinese. Previously, she and her sister would return to China freq…
Alumni Profile — November 26, 2019
A Program of the 
