University of Iowa student Holly Harris of Waterloo, Iowa, has been awarded a 2020 U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) and will travel to Florianópolis, Brazil, this summer for an intensive language and cultural immersion program.
Three Virginia Commonwealth University students have been selected for the 2020 Critical Language Scholarship, a highly competitive scholarship funded by the U.S. Department of State for the study of 15 languages deemed critical to the United States’ diplomatic and security interests.
In her application to become a 2020 Truman Scholar, Abrita Kuthumi ’21 proposed an idea that would provide educational resources for the lowest caste group in Nepal. She mapped out a plan offering economic assistance as well as support for students who face social challenges. She called the initiative “Daylight.”
Growing up alongside a large Lebanese community in Toledo, Ohio, Brad Koenig often heard Arabic spoken. In high school, he took four years of German and later lived in West Germany for three years. It was not until he served in the Gulf War in Iraq in 1990-1991, however, that he began to feel a strong international connection, particularly with the Middle East.
Unable to speak the language, Camille Bismonte (C’21) did not know that when she first travelled to Indonesia for eight weeks in the summer of 2018 that she would end up studying abroad there for the entirety of her junior year. Now a Boren Scholar, she has won a speech competition, represented the United States at the 12th Annual Bali Democracy Forum, and met the President of Indonesia.
Once upon a time, at the age of 18, I imagined I would study, work and dwell within my rural town in New Hampshire for my entire life; that all changed once I received the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) to study abroad for eight weeks in Busan, South Korea during Summer 2018 and Gwangju, South Korea during Summer 2019.
International Studies and Spanish double major Heidi Specht ’20 has her sights set on working in Brazil after graduation. This month, she’s moved one step closer to making it a reality. She learned that she’s a semi-finalist for both the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Award and Critical Language Scholarship (CLS).