Young Awarded Boren Fellowship to Study in the Philippines

Nate Young, a first-year student from the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas, has been awarded a National Security Education Program (NSEP) David L. Boren Fellowship to study Tagalog in the Philippines.

Boren Fellowships provide up to $30,000 to U.S. graduate students to add an important international and language component to their graduate education through specialization in area study, language study, or increased language proficiency. Applicants identify how their study abroad programs or overseas projects, as well as their future academic and career goals, will contribute to U.S. national security.

Young’s fellowship will place him in Metro Manila or the National Capital Region of the Philippines. He plans to work with Community and Family Services International (CFSI), an international humanitarian organization founded to promote peace and social development. Young will also complete his International Public Service Project with CFSI this summer. His International Project will allow him to travel to Manila, the Caragas region, and Southern Leyte as part of his IPSP work. Young’s current plan is to leave in January 2023 and return in December 2023.

For Young, the Boren Fellowship will provide him with a unique opportunity to learn a new language, Tagalog, which originated in the Philippine islands and is the first or second language of most Filipinos. It also creates an opportunity for Young to more deeply connect with his family’s cultural roots.

“I am most excited about being able to learn Tagalog,” Young said. “I have previously studied abroad in the Philippines but I was not there long enough to get a good grasp of the language. My grandmother immigrated from the Philippines to the United States and has taught me a small portion of Tagalog, but it is mostly limited to family terms, short phrases, and food. I believe the Boren Fellowship will help me develop both professionally and linguistically while allowing me to connect with my grandmother’s cultural roots.”

In exchange for financial support, Boren Scholars and Fellows commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation. Young’s professional goal include working in the Department of State after earning his Master of Public Service from the Clinton School.

“This requirement fit nicely into my future career goals, as I had already planned to volunteer for the Peace Corps after graduation and to eventually apply to become a Foreign Service Officer for the State Department,” Young said. “Foreign Service Officers do not get to choose where they are stationed; however, their assigned station can be influenced based upon their language skills and prior experience. I believe that the combination of completing a Boren Fellowship and serving in the Peace Corps will support my long-term goal of being stationed in Manila as a Foreign Service Officer.”

A graduate of the University of Central Arkansas, Young was introduced to the Boren Fellowship in his first year as a student at the Clinton School. He learned about the Boren opportunity through one of the school’s “Friday @ Noon” sessions, hosted by the Office of Community Engagement and led by Tiffany Jacob, Director of International Programs and Outreach, and Lydia Grate, a graduating student and OCE graduate assistant.

“Without the resources provided by the Clinton School, I most likely would have never learned about this opportunity and not received the support necessary to produce a successful application,” Young said. “I wanted to apply for the fellowship based upon its focus on language acquisition and an emphasis on federal service. My interest in foreign affairs and international development was one of the driving factors in my decision to apply for the fellowship, and in attending the Clinton School. I believed the Boren Fellowship would support my goals of learning Tagalog and pursuing a future career in the U.S. State Department.”

Young was part of a team of first-year Clinton School students that recently concluded its Practicum project work with Trauma Rehabilitation Resources Program. The group spent the year researching the implementation of the traumatic brain injury Medicaid waiver in other states, identify key stakeholders to engage, and create an implementation plan for establishing this waiver in Arkansas. This project will give students experience with research that could ultimately lead to health policy change.

David L. Boren Scholarships and Fellowships 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 the nation. In exchange for funding, Boren award recipients agree to work in the federal government for a period of at least one year.

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