2 UA Students Earn Boren Scholarships for Foreign Study

2 UA Students Earn Boren Scholarships for Foreign Study

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Two University of Alabama students have received Boren Scholarships for the study of languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad.

Michelle DeGeorge, of New Orleans, was selected to study in the Czech Republic; and Nicholas Hayes, of Memphis, Tennessee, was selected to study in Tanzania.

Nicholas Hayes

Hayes is a math and German double major with minors in physics, the Randall Research Scholars Program and a self-designed minor titled “Cultural and Philosophical Neuroscience.” Hayes hopes to nourish his passion for language learning and affinity for analytic problem solving into a career in an intelligence or analyst position. One of his hobbies is spending time with his puppies. He is originally from Simsbury, Connecticut.

DeGeorge is a senior majoring in international studies and French with minors in Russian and political science. During the 2019-2020 academic year, she will study Czech language and Central and Eastern European history and politics at Charles University in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. She also studied Russian language and culture in St. Petersburg, Russia, during the 2017-2018 academic year. On her return, she hopes to pursue graduate studies in linguistics and eventually work for the U.S. State Department as a foreign service officer.

In addition, two UA students were named as alternates: Benjamin  Jones is an alternate for Hungary; and Jacob Dennis is an alternate for Morocco.

Boren Scholarships, an initiative of the National Security Education Program, provide funding opportunities for U.S. undergraduate students to study less commonly taught language in such regions as Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

Boren Scholarship recipients represent a vital pool of highly motivated individuals who wish to work in the federal national security arena. In exchange for funding, Boren Scholarship recipients commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation. Amounts range from $8,000 for a summer program to $20,000 for six-to-12 months of study.

Contact

Richard LeComte, department of communications, 205-348-3782, richard.lecomte@ua.edu