Dietrich School Undergraduates Named 2017 Boren Scholars

Dietrich School undergraduates Katherine Andrews, Matthew Eskuchen, Capri Gaines, and Nora Wagman have been named 2017 Boren Scholars. 

These prestigious awards are sponsored by the National Security Education Program (NSEP), a major federal initiative designed to build a broader and more qualified pool of U.S. citizens with foreign language and international skills. Boren Awards provide U.S. undergraduate and graduate students with resources and encouragement to acquire language skills and experience in countries critical to the future security and stability of our nation. In exchange for funding, Boren award recipients agree to work in the federal government for a period of at least one year. “The National Security Education Program,” according to Dr. Michael A. Nugent, NSEP Director, “is helping change the U.S. higher education system and the way Americans approach the study of foreign languages and cultures.”

Katherine Andrews, a junior political science major with certificates in Global Studies and Latin American Studies certificates, will be studying Portuguese at CIEE Rio de Janeiro and Salvador from January 2018 until July 2018.

Matthew Eskuchen, a senior, biological sciences major with a chemistry minor and a Conceptual Foundations of Medicine certificate, will study Chinese at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics from January 2018 until June 2018.

Capri Gaines, a junior, political science and urban studies major and a member of the Army Reserves Training Corps and U.S. Army Reserves, 151st Legal Operations Detachment, will be studying Korean through the Exchange at Korea University in Seoul from August 2017 until December 2017.

Nora Wagman a senior economics major earning a Global Studies Certificate with a focus on global economy and Chinese, will study Swahili through the AFLI (African Flagship Languages Initiative), first in Gainesville, Florida and then at the MS-Training Center for Development Cooperation in Arusha, Tanzania, where she will also complete an internship through the AFLI program. This program runs from June 2017 until March 2018.

Congratulations to these outstanding students.