scholarships Archives - Page 3 of 3

Amanda Johnson ’17 Earns Boren Scholarship to Study in China during 2015-16 Academic Year

Posted on May 18, 2015March 23, 2022

Kalamazoo College sophomore Amanda Johnson ’17 has received a David L. Boren Scholarship to study in China during the 2015-2016 academic year. The $20,000 award will allow her to study Chinese in Beijing and Harbin.

Boren Scholarships are funded by the National Security Education Program, a federal government program that focuses on geographic areas, languages, and fields of study deemed critical to United States national security.

Amanda is one of only 171 undergraduate students (all U.S. passport holders) to receive the 2015-16 Boren award.

“Through the Boren Scholarship, I will focus on improving my Mandarin, immersing myself in Chinese culture, and taking part in both an internship and one-on-one study with a Chinese professor on a topic of my choosing,” said Amanda, a sophomore from Hudsonville, Mich.

In addition to pursuing majors in economics and political science and a minor in Chinese while at K, Amanda is secretary of finance for K’s Student Commission, a consultant for the student Writing Center, and a teaching assistant for the Economics Department. She also is active on campus with the movement for an intercultural center.

Upon receiving the Boren Scholarship, Amanda was enthusiastic about such a wonderful opportunity and the networks it would provide. She says it’s the result of “an amazing support system” that has helped her at K.

“By the time I submitted my final Boren application I had more than 18 rough drafts that had been edited by professors, staff members, and fellow students. This highlights what students at Kalamazoo College can do with a community that supports their endeavors.”

In exchange for funding, Boren award recipients agree to work in the federal government for a period of at least one year following their formal education. Amanda says she may consider fulfilling her Boren Scholarship requirement with the Department of Homeland Security as an asylum officer, helping adjudicate asylum cases by using her Chinese (and Spanish) language skills. Ultimately, she hopes to pursue a career with the United States Department of State and she is excited about the opportunity the Boren Scholarship will give her to jumpstart her career.

During the winter break of her sophomore year, Amanda interned with the Human Rights Initiative of Northern Texas, a nonprofit organization that provides immigration services to individuals who have experienced human rights violations in their home country. This internship opportunity, funded by the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, allowed Amanda to work with asylum applicants and utilize her Spanish and Chinese language skills throughout the application process.

The Boren awards are named for former U.S. Senator David L. Boren, the principal author of the legislation that created the National Security Education Program. Boren Scholars (undergrads) and Fellows (graduate students) will live in 40 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. They will study 37 different languages that are considered critical to U.S. interests, including Arabic, Hindi, Mandarin, Russian, Swahili, and Wolof.

Current Kalamazoo College seniors Luke Winship (China/Mandarin) and Erin Eagan (Senegal/Wolof) are previous Boren Scholars.

Life Changer

Posted on September 11, 2014March 23, 2022

Lor “Sana” Vang ’14 received a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) to pursue advanced language study in China this past summer. She studied at Zhejiang University of Technology in Hang Zhou, China for ten weeks.

She is one of approximately 550 U.S. undergraduate and graduate students who received the scholarship this year. The CLS Program is part of a U.S. Department of State’s effort to expand dramatically the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages, specifically Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Indonesian, Japanese, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish, or Urdu. CLS Program participants are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship and apply their critical language skills in their future professional careers.

Before Sana departed for China, we asked her to participate in a Q&A on her K career and her upcoming CLS summer.

Your hometown? I am from St. Paul, Minnesota. I was born in Thailand and raised in the U.S. I am Hmong-American.

Major, Minor? I majored in East Asian studies with minors in Japanese and economics.

Where did you study abroad? I studied in China during my junior year 2012-13, spending six months in Beijing and three months in Harbin.

Did you complete an Integrative Cultural Project (ICRP) during study abroad? Yes. My ICRP focused on traditional music and I learned how to play a Pipa, a four-string plucked lute. I took Pipa lessons with a graduate student at the Conservatory of Music in Beijing. I attended a music workshop and concerts, and also interviewed music students to learn why they decided to learn traditional versus western instruments.

How did your K study abroad experience affect your life? My K study abroad experience affected my life in many ways. China was an eye-opening experience that allowed me to see things in a different perspective. I studied the history of Beijing, improved my Chinese, and learned about music. In Harbin, I saw the influences of Western cultures and studied about Chinese myths and fairy tales. I also took a course in business that led me to understand more about China’s economic developments and how people are affected by the policies that are being implemented. I traveled and saw many historic sites, and got engaged in the community. I have many good friends from study abroad who will be with me throughout my life.

Describe your Senior Individualized Project? My SIP focused on the clashes of American culture and Hmong culture. Hmong are a diaspora group of people, and Hmong-Americans especially find it’s hard to keep the balance between being both Hmong and American. My SIP talked about finding a new identity of bi-culturalism, some of the struggles within our modern society, and understanding how history has become a big part of who Hmong are today.

Have you been involved in K student organizations? I served as the president of the Badminton Club in my sophomore year and was vice-president my senior year. I also was a member of the Asian Pacific-Islander Student Association.

Campus jobs? I worked for political science department and at the New Media Center.

What do you expect to experience and learn during your CLS summer in China? I want to learn more about the food culture and how to make authentic Chinese food. I also am interested in seeing the differences between living in the south of China and the north. I also expect to improve my Chinese language and learn more about the dialects.

What strengths and learning experiences from your nearly four years at K will help you during your CLS summer? I think my study abroad experience during my junior year will definitely help me during the CLS Summer. Studying abroad helped me become more independent, as well as understand more about myself, and the adaptation process that we all experience while moving to a different place. I learned that exploring cities and having conversations with others can also be beneficial in that you can get to know a place, the people, and become part of that ecosystem.

What are some of your longer-term academic and career goals beyond this summer? Beyond this summer I hope to either find a job or continue my studies in graduate school studying international relations and business. Critical Language Scholars are encouraged to study our targeted language and incorporate it into our future career. I hope to become fluent in Chinese and work in U.S.-China related jobs. Some activities that I might be engaged in are international relations related jobs and programs.

What would you like people to know about you and your K experience as you head toward Commencement and into the ranks of K alumni? Kalamazoo College’s slogan—More in Four. More in a Lifetime.—is, I believe, my Kalamazoo experience. I have met many inspiring people, become great friends with other K students, and have had an amazing four years that I will not forget. K is indeed life changing.

Heyl Scholars 2012

Posted on May 26, 2012March 25, 2022

The 2012 Heyl Scholars were honored with a dinner on the Kalamazoo College campus.

The F.W. and Elsie L. Heyl Scholarship awards full-tuition scholarships to graduates of Kalamazoo Public Schools or the Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Science Center (KAMSC) for the study of nursing at Western Michigan University or science and math at Kalamazoo College. Benefits also include room and board and a book allowance. The scholarship is renewable for up to four years.

Since 1972, the Heyl Scholarship Fund has awarded more than 400 scholarships worth some $30 million.

The Heyl Scholars of 2012 are (l-r): front row—Kelsey Lankford, Kalamazoo Central High School; Yu-Chyn Chiang, Kalamazoo Central High School; Aya Abe, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix High School; second row—Riley Lundquist, Portage Northern High School/KAMSC;Sarah Manski, Vicksburg High School/KAMSC; Kyle Sunden, Gull Lake High School/KAMSC; back row—Paige Maguire, Kalamazoo Central High School/KAMSC;Robert Hudson, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix High School; and Reid Blanchett, Vicksburg High School/KAMSC. Chiang, Abe, Lundquist, Manski, Sunden, Maguire, Hudson, and Blanchett will attend Kalamazoo College. Lankford will attend the WMU School of Nursing. Photo by Anthony Dugal Photography.

Two Earn Luce Scholarships

Posted on April 20, 2012August 15, 2022

Class of 2013 members Lauren Wierenga (left) and Erica Dominic have been selected to receive prestigious Clare Boothe Luce Scholarships for Women in Science and Engineering. The scholarships will cover tuition for each quarter they are enrolled on campus during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 academic years.

Erica Dominic, from Farmington Hills, Mich., is pursuing a double major in mathematics and English. She is a teaching assistant for a calculus class and works at the College’s Math and Physics Academic Resource Center as a math peer consultant. Through the College’s Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Institute for Service-Learning, she tutors elementary and middle school students in math. During summer 2010, Erica participated in a math Research Experience for Undergraduates at Michigan State University. During the upcoming fall and winter terms, she’ll study at the University of Aberdeen, in Scotland.

Lauren Wierenga, from Grand Rapids, is pursuing a biology major and math minor with a concentration in biophysics. She is co-leader of Kalamazoo’s student organization Sisters in Science, and is a member of the Women’s Ultimate Frisbee team. During summer 2010, she interned at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring, Md. This summer, she will intern for nine weeks in the Princeton University molecular biology department. In the fall, she will attend Kalamazoo’s Budapest Semester in Cognitive Science at Eötvös University in Budapest, Hungary. Eötvös is Hungary’s premier science and liberal arts university.

The Clare Boothe Luce (CBL) program is funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. Since its first grants in 1989, CBL has become the single most significant source of private support for women in science, mathematics and engineering. Thus far, the program has supported more than 1,500 women.

Clare Boothe Luce was a playwright, journalist, U.S. Ambassador to Italy, and the first woman elected to Congress from Connecticut. In her bequest establishing this program, she sought “to encourage women to enter, study, graduate, and teach” in science, mathematics and engineering.

Kalamazoo College was invited to apply by the Henry Luce Foundation, and was selected to receive the scholarships based on evidence of its strength in science and engineering, and of its commitment to Mrs. Luce’s vision of increasing the representation of women in these areas. Three Kalamazoo students received CBL scholarships in 2002, and three more in 2003. Additionally, Associate Professor of Mathematics Michele Intermont received a Clare Boothe Luce scholarship during her graduate school days at University of Notre Dame, in South Bend, Ind.