Established in 1991, the Boren Undergraduate Scholarship provides funding opportunities for U.S. students to study languages and world regions critical to U.S. interests (including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America & the Caribbean, and the Middle East).
2024-2025 UW Scholars & alternates:
Alice Bruil, Scholar to Senegal
Global & Regional Studies major with a concentration in Africa and Health & the Environment, and minors in French and Global Health
I am a third-year student majoring in Global and Regional Studies with a concentration in Africa and Health & the Environment and minors in French and Global Health. I have studied abroad in Greece, Switzerland, and Morocco, and interned at the International Rescue Committee. I want to combine my strong interest in international relations and migration with my passion for environmental sustainability. After studying the French language for seven years, the Boren African Flagship Language Initiative (AFLI) offered the perfect opportunity to improve my fluency in an African Francophone environment while being exposed to Wolof, the local language. As climate change presents intensified environmental and social consequences to Sub-Saharan Africa, studying in Senegal will allow me to observe the impacts of environmental challenges on local populations and the innovative solutions created to address them. Additionally, I expect to gain a critical understanding of the flow of migrants and refugees through the Sahel region and how it impacts foreign policy. Upon returning to the U.S., I hope to utilize my cultural literacy and knowledge of the French language to begin a federal career aimed at promoting collaborative relationships between international actors to address environmental protection and climate migration. After graduating from UW, I plan to attend graduate school and fulfill the service requirement with a position at the Department of State.
Alice’s Tips: Ensure that you have multiple people read over your essays! Additionally, make sure your statements are highly specific to you and your interests.
Sophia Lu, Scholar to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA
Bioengineering major, and minor in Naval Sciences
I spent the past four years of college balancing Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (NROTC) training, rigorous Bioengineering academics, and a part-time job at a restaurant. Through the NROTC program, I plan to commission as a Naval Nuclear Officer serving on submarines. I joined the UW Chinese Flagship program in 2020, and after many quarters of Chinese classes and NROTC commitments, I will complete my Capstone at the Defense Language Institute (DLI) in Monterey, CA. My short term goal is to be a successful naval officer, working in the naval intelligence community, where my skills in Chinese would prove invaluable. My long term goal is to work within DoD or another government agency in a position related to foreign diplomacy. After leaving the military, I have considered either continuing to do governmental work with international relations or intelligence, or to pursue my other interest: research and development in biotechnology.
Sophia’s Tips: Really emphasize why this specific scholarship helps with your goals, as well as what foundation you have that will help you with your language studies going forward.
Scholarship Archive
Browse our archive for more of UW’s Boren Scholarship history.