CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign students Jacqueline Becerra, Robert Herbolich and Aynur Namik were awarded U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarships to study foreign languages this summer.
The scholarship program is part of an 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 studying one of 14 critical languages.
Becerra will study advanced Korean at Chonnam National University in Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
Becerra, of Round Lake Beach, Illinois, and a graduate of Grayslake North High School, will study advanced Korean at Chonnam National University in Gwangju, Republic of Korea. She is a senior double majoring in English and linguistics and teaching English as a second language. A first-generation college student, Becerra spent last fall semester studying abroad at Yonsei University, South Korea, and this spring completed the last Korean course available at Illinois. Becerra would like to attend graduate school in applied Korean linguistics in South Korea to become an English teacher proficient in both languages to better assist students.
Herbolich will study Swahili in Arusha, Tanzania.
Herbolich, of Seattle, Washington, graduated from Seattle Academy. He will be studying Swahili in Arusha, Tanzania, through the MS-Training Centre for Development Cooperation. Herbolich is a senior majoring in advertising. He studied environmental sciences abroad for a semester in Chile and worked as a research assistant in the Balule Nature Reserve in Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa. Herbolich’s career goal is to share information about the work of conservation organizations in East Africa with the rest of the world.
Namik will study Korean at Pusan National University, Republic of Korea.
Namik, of Algonquin, Illinois, recently graduated with honors in integrative biology. A James Scholar at Illinois, she will study Korean at Pusan National University, Republic of Korea. A first-generation college student, Namik graduated from Dundee-Crown High School, where she participated in the 2018 National Security Language Initiative for Youth exchange program in South Korea. At the U. of I., she has volunteered at the Champaign Refugee Center and Crisis Nursery Daycare, participated in the Korean Conversation Club, and has taken every Korean language class offered. She will begin dental school at the University of Illinois Chicago this fall with the goal of providing care to Korean populations.
Scholarship recipients are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship and apply their critical language skills in their future careers. Approximately 10% of the 5,000 applicants nationwide received a Critical Language Scholarship in 2023.
