Ball State University freshman Scott Webster has been
awarded a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS), which will provide two months of
beginning Turkish study in Ankara, Turkey, this Summer.
Mr. Webster, of Fishers, Ind., is a student in Ball
State’s Honors College
majoring in Economics and Finance,
with a minor in Accounting. His language study and cultural immersion in Turkey
with CLS will be the first step toward his goal of becoming fluent in Turkish.
Ultimately, Mr. Webster intends to pursue a career with the U.S. State
Department or other government agency.
“I am grateful
to the U.S. Department of State and the American Councils for International
Education for selecting me to receive this prestigious scholarship,” Mr.
Webster said. “By building Turkish language skills, I can be of service in a
crucial region that affects national interests of the U.S. The ability to
converse and read in Turkish will enable me to have greater access to, and
understanding of, Turkey’s political, social, and economic issues.”
Mr. Webster is
the eighth Ball State awardee of a Critical Language Scholarship. He is
scheduled to begin his studies at the TÖMER
Institute in Ankara in mid-June.
An initiative
within the U.S. State Department, CLS is an intensive overseas language and
cultural immersion program for American students enrolled at U.S. colleges and
universities. Critical Language Scholars spend eight to 10 weeks abroad
studying one of 15 critical languages, with intensive language instruction and
structured cultural enrichment experiences designed to promote rapid language
gains.
This scholarship program is part of a broader U.S.
government effort to significantly boost the number of Americans studying and
mastering foreign languages that are crucial to national security and economic
prosperity. More than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students nationwide
applied for the scholarship this year.