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SALISBURY, MD---Three Salisbury University students have won prestigious Boren Scholarships for learning critical languages.

Senior John Bunke of Silver Spring, MD, is studying Azerbaijani; spring 2020 graduate Tehzeeb Hassan of Salisbury is studying Turkish; and senior Madie Poteet of Jarrettsville, MD, is studying Indonesian.

The scholarship includes $20,000 for six months of study overseas and the students commit to at least one year of work for the federal government after graduation. These recipients bring Salisbury’s total to seven Boren Scholars, after four earned the honor a year ago.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced adjustments to the program, as the students’ travel abroad was slated for January 2021 following intensive study during the summer and fall.

“The Boren Scholarship is a prestigious honor for our students and shows their dedication to their academic wellbeing and pursuit of knowledge,” said Dr. Kristen Walton, SU’s Director of National Competitive Fellowships. “These three particular students have been forced to put in additional effort and deal with disruptions to the program due to the pandemic and have risen to every challenge.”

Bunke, who is scheduled to travel to Baku, Azerbaijan, sees his time with the Boren program leading to a career in which he can enact change in an unstable region.

“I hope to gain a working proficiency in Azerbaijani while also developing a deeper understanding of the peoples, cultures and politics of the Southern Caucasus region,” he said.

“After graduation, I hope to eventually work as a foreign service officer in the Southern Caucasus, where I will be able to use my language skills to better advise on mutually beneficial policy towards the region while promoting stronger international relations.”

While the trio has needed to make adjustments to their plans for traveling abroad, the Boren Scholarship has afforded them an opportunity to expand their connection to academic peers. Hassan and Poteet were able to virtually participate in their summer studies through the University of Wisconsin, Madison, including classes five days per week.

“It was interesting to virtually meet all the different recipients of the scholarship,” said Hassan, who continues with a language maintenance class this fall. “They were a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students across the country and from different fields of study who had different goals in mind from this scholarship. It was refreshing to learn from this group of academics and get to interact with them.”

Poteet also has daily interactions with an assigned language partner, who is her age and grew up in Indonesia as a native speaker. She is currently taking a language maintenance class through the University of Malang. 

While she and her cohort will not be able to travel to Malang, on the island of East Java, Indonesia, in January, they are still investigating options to complete the program there or at an alternate site before the end of 2021.

“I loved the idea of learning, language and immersing myself in a country whose culture would really challenge me and expand my thinking, which is why I picked the Indonesian Flagship Language Initiative,” she said.

The Boren is supported by the U.S. Department of Defense and administered by the Institute of International Education, on behalf of the NESP. 

For information about national fellowships, ³ÉÈ˶¶Òõstudents or alumni may email Walton or visit the Nationally Competitive Fellowships Office Website.

For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the ³ÉÈ˶¶Òõwebsite.