UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn Staters Jocelyn Krieger, Ashley Naraine, Juntae Rocker and Hannah Scholze have earned a 2022 Critical Language Scholarship (CLS). The competitive national award, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, will cover many of the expenses for students to pursue intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences abroad.
The CLS program works to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. This year, the Department of State awarded nearly 700 scholarships to recipients from 255 different institutions of higher education in the U.S. About 4,500 students applied.
Jocelyn Krieger, an alumna and former Schreyer Scholar from State College, Pennsylvania, double majored in history and economics, and earned minors in Jewish studies and Middle East studies in the College of the Liberal Arts. This summer she will immerse herself in the Turkish language while in Turkey.
“I am incredibly excited to challenge myself and throw myself into language learning — something that has been significantly postponed due to the pandemic,” Krieger said. “I am incredibly grateful for this life-changing opportunity and the support of the University.”
Ashley Naraine, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, majored in communication arts and sciences and global and international studies in the College of the Liberal Arts. She also earned a minor in military studies and commissioned through Air Force ROTC into the Space Force. This summer, Naraine will improve her Mandarin Chinese while living in Taiwan.
Naraine explained that she began traveling at a young age with her military family, which sparked a passion for languages and learning about other cultures.
“This experience will leave memories of a lifetime and further connect me to a culture I wouldn’t have had the privilege to learn more about,” Naraine said. “I’m extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity to visit Taiwan again and to further explore such a beautiful country with a history of profound culture.”
Juntae Rocker is a Schreyer Scholar and Paterno Fellow from Seoul, South Korea, as well as Tucson, Arizona, and Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Rocker said he’s been away from South Korea for six years and is looking forward to returning there this summer. He majored in Asian studies and Korean in the College of the Liberal Arts, and he minored in digital media trends and analytics in the Bellisario College of Communications.
“As a Korean heritage speaker, I need this intensive study abroad to not only reconnect with my cultural roots but maximize language gains before I eventually live, work and study in South Korea post-graduation,” Rocker said. “Throughout my collective stay in South Korea, I've never left the capital of Seoul, so it's especially exciting to experience the rich culture and customs of Busan.”
Hannah Scholze, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, graduated this spring with degrees in international politics and global and international studies, and a minor in Russian, from the College of the Liberal Arts. Like many students, Scholze said she had study abroad opportunities canceled due to COVID-19, but CLS will give her an opportunity to study in the country of Georgia this summer.
“I'm most passionate about pursuing human rights advocacy and policy in the region, particularly concerning human rights violations in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia,” Scholze said. “The Russian language was originally a tool to pursue these interests, but it's now a passion.”
About the Critical Language Scholarship
CLS recipients spend eight to 10 weeks studying one of 15 languages deemed critical to national security and economic prosperity: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish or Urdu. The program is developed in partnership with local institutions in countries where these languages are commonly spoken. More than 8,000 students have been awarded a CLS since 2006.
To learn about the Critical Language Scholarship and application support, visit Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Mentoring (URFM). URFM can help students navigate the application process and prepare the required short answers and essays, but there is no required University involvement.
Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Mentoring is part of the Penn State Office of Undergraduate Education.