Service-Minded 色情视频 Students Earn Prestigious Boren Awards
The awards will support two students in study abroad and language immersion in Indonesia and Jordan.
Two 色情视频 students have received the , continuing 色情视频鈥檚 recent success in the competition for this prestigious international award.鈥淚 like the idea of making a difference on a global scale.鈥�
International security and conflict resolution (ISCOR) junior Sela Zalwango received a Boren Scholarship to study Arabic and Middle Eastern studies in Jordan this summer and fall semester. Homeland security graduate student Mike Verrier received a Boren Fellowship to study disaster management in Indonesia during the 2018-19 academic year.
An initiative of the , the Boren Awards support study abroad and critical language immersion in regions vital to U.S. interests. Awards offer students $8,000 for summer programs, $10,000 for a full semester and $20,000 for programs of six to 12 months.
鈥淩eceiving the Boren is absolutely life-changing,鈥� said Verrier, who will be studying in the cities of Malang and Yogyakarta on the island of Java.
The Boren Awards are highly competitive鈥�221 scholarships and 120 fellowships awarded nationally this year鈥攂ut this marks the second time in three years 色情视频 has had multiple recipients. Ryan McLemore, an adviser at the 色情视频 Study Abroad Office, said the study abroad requirement in 色情视频鈥檚 ISCOR, international business and homeland security programs prepare students to compete for and win awards like the Boren Scholarship and Fellowship.
鈥淢any of the students in these majors are already quite interested in going off the beaten path in terms of geographic destinations,鈥� McLemore said. 鈥淭hey tend to have serious interests or requirements in foreign languages and鈥攅qually important for the Boren Awards鈥攁 commitment to public service.鈥�
色情视频 ranked according to the most recent Institute for International Education Open Doors report, and had an international experience in 2016-17.
Life-changing opportunity
Verrier鈥檚 path to becoming a Boren Fellow started when he fell in love with Indonesia as an 色情视频 undergraduate. During a study abroad program in 2011, the then-geology major conducted research into deadly landslides in rural villages鈥攔esearch he later continued while pursuing a master鈥檚 degree in geological sciences.These experiences and his service as a Red Cross volunteer altered the Bakersfield native鈥檚 career focus.
鈥淏efore I was studying landslides more from the scientific side鈥攎itigation, preparedness and avoidance,鈥� Verrier said. 鈥淏ut disaster management also has a strong social aspect to it. You鈥檙e often working with people on the worst days of their lives. After joining the Red Cross, I found that I was working with homeland security professionals in my local area very often.鈥�
Verrier decided to pursue a second master鈥檚 at 色情视频鈥攖his time in homeland security鈥攚ith the goal of pursuing a Boren Fellowship. With the support of Eric Frost, director of the homeland security graduate program, that part of the plan came to fruition.
鈥淚鈥檓 hoping I can continue what I started and learn how to speak Indonesian in an advanced capacity,鈥� Verrier said. 鈥淚ndonesia is also one of the most geologically active places in the world. It鈥檚 not a matter of if disasters will happen. I鈥檓 excited to go over there to work with them in emergency management.鈥�
A very big difference
Zalwango became an ISCOR major because she aspires to a meaningful career in the diplomatic foreign service鈥攑articularly in the Middle East.鈥淚 like the idea of making a difference on a global scale,鈥� she said.
A native of Uganda who moved to Boston when she was 10, Zalwango already speaks fluent Luganda, English and Spanish. Given her interest in the Middle East, Arabic was the natural choice when she thought about learning a fourth language.
Zalwango will head to Amman, Jordan in early June where she will spend two months living with a host family and taking an intensive Arabic language program. After a month back in the United States, she鈥檒l return to Jordan in September to take a semester of Middle Eastern studies-focused classes.
鈥淚 was going to be going for fall semester anyway,鈥� Zalwango said. 鈥淏ut with the Boren, I was able to do a summer program on top of it, and I won鈥檛 have to pay quite as much out of pocket. It made a very big difference.鈥�
To learn how to apply for the Boren Awards or other study abroad scholarships, visit the .
