61传媒’s Megan Petersen ’15 is among the approximately 631 undergraduate and graduate students to receive a U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship, which will allow her to study Arabic this summer in Morocco.
“I’ve never been to north Africa, so I’m excited to spend time there and absorb as much of the culture and language as I can. Taking intensive Arabic classes will improve my comprehension of the language, and by living in the country, I’ll learn the Moroccan dialect making future travel on my own to northern Africa more accessible,” says Petersen, who plans a dual major in nonfiction writing and foreign languages, German and Arabic.
More than 5,200 students applied for the scholarship. The academic program is part of a U.S. government effort to dramatically increase the number of students mastering critical foreign languages. As the department solicited student applications, particular attention was given to states and regions that have been historically under-represented in the applicant pool and to students from diverse backgrounds and academic majors.
The Council of American Overseas Research Centers and the American Councils for International Education oversee this program, one of several supported annually by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. For more information about this scholarship or any exchange program offered by the bureau, please visit: http://www.clscholarship.org or http://exchanges.state.gov.