WSU Honors Scholars Get National Boren Scholarship, Alternate Designation for 2013-14
PULLMAN, Wash.— Chinese major John Stark is Washington State University’s newest Boren Scholar to receive federal funding to study a foreign language abroad, and chemical engineering student Monica Bomber has been named a Boren alternate. Both are in the Honors College.
With his Boren funding, Stark, a senior, will further his mastery of Mandarin to fulfill his passion for language and prepare him “to be valuable to the U.S. in areas of defense and diplomacy.” Bomber, a sophomore, would use Boren support to study Swahili in class and through an internship, intent on learning to design cost-effective water purification plants in East Africa.
Boren Scholarships of up to $20,000 are sponsored by the National Security Education Program and named for David L. Boren, principal author of federal legislation that created the program in 1991. Boren Scholarships allow American undergraduate college students to study less-commonly-taught languages in almost 90 world regions critical to U.S. interests but underrepresented in study abroad. These include Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Among the nearly 65 preferred languages are Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Swahili. For 2013-14, 161 of 947 undergraduates applying for Boren Scholarships received the award; in exchange for the funding, recipients agree to work in the federal government for at least one year.
Stark began his study of Mandarin at WSU, and the Boren support will provide a language immersion experience at the International Chinese Language Program at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. A graduate of Newport High School in Newport, Wash., Stark’s career plan is to work in the intelligence community.
In his Boren application, he writes, “Language learning is a passion of mine and studying Chinese at Washington State University has been thoroughly enjoyable…I have (also) completed courses on Chinese culture and philosophy and have come to learn how intertwined the Chinese language is with China’s historical and philosophical roots.”
Boren Scholars alternate Bomber spent two years in China with her family, graduated from Hudson’s Bay High School in Vancouver, and studied at Clark College before coming to WSU.
In her Boren application, she expressed her desire to study Swahili (aka KiSwahili) at the Knowledge Exchange Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. The eight-week summer program is spent half in language and culture classes, and half at an internship with an organization involved with water resources. Creating and protecting sustainable water systems in developing countries is a goal of the U.S. State Department, says Bomber, who plans to work in its Foreign Service sector as an economics officer.
Although she may not have a Boren Scholarship and funding in time, Bomber will depart for the program in late May. She has saved her money since eighth grade for an experience like this, she says, and because the program is in Africa and deals with water quality and stability—her two strongest passions—she is intent on going. The experience also aligns with her future academic plans in engineering and the Honors College back at WSU.
For more information on the Boren and other prestigious scholarships, visit the WSU Distinguished Scholarships website.
CONTACT: Robin Bond, Scholarship Coordinator, Honors College at WSU, 509-335-4505, rsbond@wsu.edu
Sarah Ann Hones, Distinguished Scholarships Director, University College at WSU, 509-335-8239, shones@su.edu
MEDIA: Beverly Makhani, Communications Director, Honors College at WSU, 509-335-6679, Makhani@wsu.edu