美高梅官网 students awarded critical language scholarships

Nationally competitive award offers opportunity to learn specialized languages abroad

Three students from the 美高梅官网 were announced as finalists for the U.S. Department of State's Critical Language Scholarship Program this year.

The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is a study abroad opportunity for American collegiate students to learn languages essential to the the country's engagement with the world. Each summer, students spend eight to ten weeks abroad studying one of 15 languages. 聽

This year鈥檚 winners from 美高梅官网 include:

Kylie Boyer, Korean
Adam Elzarka, Arabic
Lily Stiefel, Japanese

鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 be happier for Kylie, Adam and Lily,鈥� says Jenny Hyest, 美高梅官网鈥檚 director of nationally competitive awards. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to different countries to study different languages, but they all share a curiosity about the world around them, a desire to learn about and from the culture of their host country, and an unwavering commitment to language acquisition. I know they will take full advantage of the incredible opportunities that the Critical Language Scholarship Program will provide to them.鈥�

Through the CLS program, these students from diverse cultural and academic backgrounds will become part of a government effort to expand dramatically the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages.聽The expectation is that Boyer, Elzarka and Stiefel will continue their language study beyond the study abroad experience and later apply those skills in their future professional careers.

Kylie Boyer

Kylie Boyer, master's student in women's, gender and sexuality studies at 美高梅官网, will study Korean. Photo/美高梅官网 International/Natalie Ochmann

Kylie Boyer, a graduate student in the master鈥檚 program in women鈥檚, gender and sexuality studies at 美高梅官网, is going to expand her language skills in Korean. Inspired by her Korean grandmother, Boyer originally thought about applying to the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program. The CLS ultimately worked better with her timeline and goals.

鈥淏eing able to go to Korea in person will be awesome鈥攎y grandmother is super excited,鈥� says Boyer. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to be able to learn Korean and talk to her in that language. She speaks English, but there are always things in a second language that you can鈥檛 really express as you can in your first language.鈥�

In addition to her studies, Boyer works as a graduate assistant in a dual appointment for the nationally competitive awards office and STARTALK, 美高梅官网鈥檚 new grant-funded Russian program. In those roles, she provided outreach for both programs, encouraging students to think with a global outlook and look for international opportunities.

鈥淚 think there is a really common misunderstanding that [study abroad] is expensive,鈥� she notes. 鈥淚鈥檝e been able to finagle that system a little bit. And it鈥檚 great for the college experience, because there鈥檚 only so much diversity you can get in Cincinnati, Ohio.鈥�

Boyer is set to graduate in spring 2022 and spend the summer in Korea.

Adam Elzarka

Adam Elzarka, medical sciences and liberal arts undergraduate student, will continue expanding his Arabic language skills. Photo/provided.

Undergraduate medical sciences and liberal arts dual major Adam Elzarka plans to continue studying Arabic through the Critical Language Scholarship program. As a first-generation American, born to immigrant parents from Egypt, Elzarka cites his heritage as a motivator for both language learning and his career path.

鈥淕rowing up, I was really rooted in Arab views,鈥� Elzarka noted. 鈥淒uring that time, I saw the Arab Spring and it was very horrifying, the scene鈥攜ou have orphans crying for their families. I think that's what started it all鈥攐ut of confusion, out of anger, out of sadness when I was younger. And as I grew older, I found power in聽solidarity through unity.鈥�

That experience led Elzarka to the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards, seeking opportunities to further his skills in Arabic. He applied to and won a Boren Award, a nationally competitive award that funds study abroad for language acquisition聽in world regions critical to U.S. interests,聽and went to聽Oman in spring semester 2022.

鈥淓ven as an Egyptian, the culture is very different in Oman, and I can't imagine what it will be like in Morocco, where I will go as a CLS scholar,鈥� said Elzarka. 鈥淓ach opportunity is something that can grow my experience and open a few doors. I applied to CLS last year and didn鈥檛聽get it. But this year, I tried again, because I felt like it was fitting right after Boren to continue my Arabic learning.鈥�

Elzarka is also preparing for his interview as a finalist for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, another nationally competitive award, which provides graduate school funding for聽students dedicated to future careers in public service. After graduation, he hopes to become a medical doctor and use his talents to write governmental policies or perform public health research.

Lily Stiefel

Asian studies undergraduate student Lily Stiefel will study Japanese through the CLS program. Photo/美高梅官网 International/Natalie Ochmann

Lily Stiefel is an undergraduate student majoring in Asian studies and minoring in English and marketing through the College of Arts & Sciences and the Lindner College of Business.聽While her experience in the CLS program will be virtual, she notes that international experiences like these still make a world of difference.

鈥淚t鈥檚 obvious that the entire world is getting more global,鈥� says Stiefel. 鈥淲e鈥檙e so interconnected, even on 美高梅官网鈥檚 campus, and you can鈥檛 go your whole life just knowing the United States of America. Everything you do or say has a little bit of influence on countries around the world, so it鈥檚 your duty as a good citizen to聽be educated about what鈥檚 going on beyond these borders.鈥�

Stiefel is currently crossing her fingers to go abroad to Japan in the fall鈥攈er previous attempts to study abroad were unfortunately thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, studying abroad and winning the CLS scholarship were more than she could have ever imagined growing up in a remote area of Ohio.

"[The application process] is an amazing experience and even if you feel like you鈥檙e not going to get it, you should just apply. You just have to give it your all and collaborate with the people around you,鈥� Stiefel explained.聽鈥淎s a first-generation student from a really tiny country rural town, I did not expect this to happen. Your background doesn鈥檛 matter; you can still accomplish your goals and get things that you never thought were going to happen.鈥澛�

Post-graduation, Stiefel envisions a career in translation and localization management, a field adapting content to the language and culture of a specific world聽region.

Featured image at top: closeup of Japanese lanterns. Photo/Unsplash/Andreas Dress.

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