Students Earn Unique Opportunities Through Boren Award, Critical Language Scholarship

The NC State University Fellowships Office works tirelessly to ensure that students have the opportunity to earn prestigious and competitive national scholarships and fellowships. 

This year, several students who worked with the Fellowships Office earned either Boren or Critical Language Scholarships, allowing them to have an immersive experience mastering a new language this summer and fall. 

The best way to learn a language is to go to that country and live in that context for at least a few weeks.

Through the Boren Award, Sonia Pereira will study Turkish, Sarah Crawley will study Japanese, and Akieliah Robinson will study Mandarin through the Critical Languages Scholarship’s Spark program. 

“It’s incredibly special to help these students take advantage of these opportunities,” said Fellowships Advisor Kristen Hetrick. “The best way to learn a language, and sometimes the only way depending on the language is to go to that country and live in that context for at least a few weeks. The ability to do that and have it be fully funded is incredible, and prepares these students for their future career or educational plans.” 

Each awardee worked closely with Hetrick and the University Fellowships Office on their applications and essays, and each quickly credited Hetrick for her assistance with the process. 

“Kristen saved my life,” Robinson said. “She was so helpful. She emailed me to say congratulations, and I had to tell her this would not have happened without her. She really took me under her wing. It was kind of difficult to get my footing and say exactly what I wanted to say in terms of these essays, and Kristen was really able to help.”

Sarah Crawley

The Boren program offers students who will spend at least 25 weeks learning a language in a different country $25,000 for airfare, lodging, food and other living expenses. Crawley, a graduate student in the Master of International Studies program, will head to Japan in the fall, spending the next year in Tokyo completely immersing herself in the language. 

“I’m super excited,” Crawley said. “When I got the acceptance letter, I sat and stared at it. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this isn’t real.’ It’s a cool opportunity, so I’m really excited.” 

Tokyo will be Crawley’s third time living and learning in Japan; she previously studied in both Kyoto and Hiroshima. 

However, her first trip was during her undergraduate studies, with her focus on completing courses and credits. 

“I’ve been really wanting to go back to focus on language studies so that I can use it in a future job,” Crawley said. “And this is my chance to do that. So I’m really excited to be able to concentrate only on language and not have to worry about other classes and getting credits.”

The Boren Award program requires recipients to spend a year working for the federal government after completing their studies, and working in that arena has always been a goal for Crawley. 

“Japan is our biggest ally in the Indo-Pacific,” Crawley said. My hope is to facilitate communication between the two countries.”

Sonia Pereira

Pereira, a fourth-year student majoring in international studies, is headed to Azerbaijan to study Turkish. 

Pereira explained that she took an introductory course while studying abroad in Germany last year, but this will be her first in-depth study of the language. While studying in Germany, Pereira noticed a strong influence of the Turkish language, stemming from a Germany-Turkey agreement following World War II in which many Turkish workers came to Germany to help rebuild the country. 

While working at a refugee center in Germany, Pereira found that Turkey was a significant part of the migration route from the Middle East to Europe and that Turkish is a standard language around the route. 

“I love working with refugees and helping them with their language skills,” Pereira said. “So it really spoke to me how another country was at play here that bridged the East and the West. I really like the language because it’s pretty similar to the English alphabet.

When Pereira returns from Azerbaijan, she’ll have two remaining semesters at NC State. During this time, she plans to pursue another fellowship, such as Fulbright, or perhaps consider joining the Peace Corps. 

Pereira hopes to work for the State Department for her post-graduate federal service, ideally continuing her refugee assistance work. 

“Ideally it will be something that relates to refugee policy making with the Department of State,” she said. 

Akieliah Robinson 

Robinson, a fourth-year student in bioprocessing engineering, will study Mandarin online through the Critical Language Spark program this summer. 

Robinson, who has not formally studied the language since high school, will have an immersive experience, working virtually with a school in Singapore, spending two hours a day working on language skills and completing assessments. 

“I’m very excited,” Robinson said. I’ve wanted to learn Mandarin more in-depth for a while now. I’m glad that there’s a program like this that gives me a chance to have an immersive experience. With programs such as Duolingo, it’s just like trying to attempt it for two weeks and then giving up, which is what usually happens. So I’m excited.” 

After completing the Spark program, Robinson will apply for the Critical Language Program, allowing her to study Mandarin in a different country abroad. 

Robinson was drawn to Mandarin by its versatility, worldwide usage, and potential use in her future travel goals.

“One of the main things they try to emphasize is that Mandarin isn’t spoken only in China,” Robinson said. “It’s spoken in countries like Taiwan and Singapore, and other countries as well. I’ve always wanted to, after graduation, take some time to explore and learn new things about new cultures, and having familiarity with this language would give me the opportunity to do so.” 

Students interested in applying for international fellowships should contact the University Fellowships Office.