The U.S. Department of State recently selected two Colorado State University undergraduates as Critical Language Scholars, a prestigious program that provides intensive overseas language and cultural immersion for college students.
Justin Lund and Anna Swab, both of the College of Liberal Arts, have earned scholarships from the State Department to study a language abroad this summer as part of this immersive initiative. More than 500 students are selected annually from U.S. colleges and universities from a pool of more than 5,000 applicants.
Lund, a senior majoring in international studies with an Asian studies concentration, is heading to Okayama University in Japan for three months this summer to study Japanese. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Lund hopes to one day work as an IT foreign service specialist for the State Department.
“As the CLS Scholarship is very competitive, I am incredibly grateful that I was chosen and am really looking forward to quickly improving my Japanese language ability over the course of only a couple months,” he said.
Swab, a junior majoring in history with a language concentration, will be traveling to Chonnam National University in Gwangju, South Korea, to study Korean for two months this summer. She explained that Academy Award-winning director Bong Joon-ho’s films, such as “Parasite,” had an indelible impact on her interest in Korean culture and language. Classes and mentorship from faculty members, such as Kyeoung Hee Kim and Jenna Park, also were important, she said.
“For me, getting selected means that my dedication to language learning has been recognized, and I can continue my Korean education without a significant financial burden,” said Swab, who plans to pursue a graduate degree in history following graduation.
Critical Language Scholarship Program
Recipients of the CLS awards include students from more than 200 institutions of higher education across the U.S., including public and private universities, liberal arts colleges, minority serving institutions, military academies and community colleges.
More than 475 higher education professionals participated in the selection process, representing 255 colleges and universities, including over 90 minority-serving institutions and almost 20 community colleges. Additionally, over 100 CLS program alumni also participated in the process.
Since 2006, CLS has awarded scholarships to more than 6,000 American students to learn critical languages around the world. CLS scholars are among the more than 50,000 academic and professional exchange program participants supported annually by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
The CLS program is administered by the American Councils for International Education.
Students interested in applying for the Critical Language Scholarship Program should contact Mary Swanson, director of the Office for Scholarship and Fellowship Advising, at mary.swanson@colostate.edu.
