Student Philip Pitts Receives Prestigious 2012 Boren Award; Nicole Smolinske an Alternate

PULLMAN, Wash. — Sophomore computer science and Chinese language and culture major Philip Pitts is one of 161 students nationwide to receive the 2012 Boren Award for International Study. More than 1,000 students applied.

Pitts plans to study in China for a year to gain mastery in Mandarin Chinese. The Boren focuses on national security as well, which relates to his goal of working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation as an intelligence analyst.

In addition, Honors senior political science and philosophy major Nicole Smolinske was selected as an alternate for the award.

This is the second year in a row that an Honors student has been selected to study in China on a Boren. Last year, Anna Breigenzer received the honor.

“The Boren was so much more than a scholarship,” says Breigenzer. “It even helped me figure out my Honors thesis and what I want to do after graduation.  I hope everyone gets a chance like this to study abroad.”

Pitts was awarded the Boren along with a fellow WSU undergraduate.