CHAMPAIGN, Ill. —University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign students Caleb Apperson, Dahlia Davis and Aiman Ghani were awarded U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarships to study foreign languages this summer.
Caleb Apperson
Apperson, of Champaign, a graduate of Centennial High School, was offered a Critical Language Scholarship to study Chinese. Apperson is a junior majoring in East Asian languages and cultures. At Illinois, he has worked as an intern at Japan House, helping to educate the community about Japanese culture, aesthetics and art forms. He also is a member of Bridges International, a community outreach group that helps international students acclimate to campus life and American culture. According to Apperson, his goal is to become a foreign service officer with the State Department.
Dahlia Davis
Davis, of Plainfield, Illinois, and a graduate of Plainfield East High School, was offered a Critical Language Scholarship to study Korean. A James Scholar honors student, Davis is a junior double majoring in linguistics and East Asian languages and cultures. She is studying fourth-year Korean and has previously participated in the Middlebury College Summer Korean Immersion Program with a Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowship. Davis also performs in the Marching Illini and the Philharmonia Orchestra and serves as the vice president of the American Sign Language and Culture Club. Davis said she aspires to work on Korean unification issues within a government agency.
Aiman Ghani
Ghani, a senior in elementary education, will use the award to study Urdu. A transfer student, she is engaged with interfaith and diversity-promoting organizations on campus. She also trains horses as a volunteer with Crosswinds Equine Rescue. Ghani writes and presents her own poetry and is completing her first novel as she seeks to diversify children’s literature. Ghani said she plans to become an English as a second language teacher who “honors and welcomes my students’ native languages in the classroom as learning tools.”
The Critical Language Scholarship program is part of a U.S. government initiative to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign language and cultural skills to enable them to contribute to U.S. economic competitiveness and national security. The program provides full scholarships to U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to spend eight to 10 weeks abroad – or online, depending on COVID-19 conditions – studying one of 15 critical languages.
The program includes intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences designed to promote rapid language gains. Scholars are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship and apply their critical language skills in their future careers. Approximately 10% of the 4,500 applicants nationwide received a Critical Language Scholarship in 2022.
Editor’s note: For more information, contact David Schug, National and International Scholarships Program director, 217-333-4710; topscholars@illinois.edu
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