UA Honors Student Wins Boren Scholarship for International Study

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – University of Alabama Honors College student Jackie Pitts was recently awarded an NSEP/Boren Scholarship to study Arabic in Jordan for the 2010-2011 academic year.

Pitts decided to study Arabic because of her fascination with North Africa and Southwest Asia.

“It’s such a diverse region with a beautiful language and so many cultures,” Pitts says. “Arabic is considered a critical language, fewer people speak it, and knowing it will help me get a job once I graduate.”

With the Boren Scholarship, Pitts will now have the opportunity to study in her country of choice, Jordan, for one academic year.

“The main reason I’m studying abroad is to improve my language skills and I believe living, studying, and hopefully volunteering in Amman, Jordan, will facilitate that,” Pitts says.

A sophomore from Oberlin, Ohio, majoring in International Relations with a minor in Arabic, Pitts has studied Arabic for two semesters at UA, and is currently in Meknes, Morocco, studying Intermediate Arabic and Gender Studies.

“Right now I am spending 12 weeks in Morocco studying Arabic, and I am so happy to know that I can continue my studies at an intense level in the coming year,” Pitts says.

The Boren Scholarship will enable Pitts to continue her studies abroad, while also helping set up the framework for a potential career.

Pitts says that the scholarship includes a one-year service requirement working in an area related to national security within three years of Pitts’ return to the United States, which she says will bring her closer to working at the State Department.

Boren scholarships and fellowships provide funding opportunities for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to add an important international and language component to their educations.

Boren focuses on geographic areas, languages and fields of study that are critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad. Each year, 1,000 elite applicants apply for the scholarship and only 128 are selected.  Pitts is the first UA undergraduate to receive this prestigious scholarship valued at $20,000.

“This scholarship means the world to me,” Pitts says. “My goal going into college was to be fluent in Arabic, or close to, by the time I graduated.”

The award recognition also means a great deal to the International Honors Program and its director, Dr. Fran Oneal.

“The Honors College is delighted that Jackie Pitts, a National Merit Scholarship student from Ohio, has been selected to receive an NSEP/ Boren Scholarship,” Oneal says. “Jackie is an outstanding student in the IHP…She plans to use her interest in Middle Eastern history, politics, economics, and culture for the benefit of U.S. relations in that region.”