By Valerie Edwards/reporter
TCC students can apply to study abroad in many underrepresented areas throughout the world, such as Africa, Asia or the Middle East.
The Boren Scholarship is a program that allows for study in a country the U.S. government considers “critical to the U.S. national security,” according to the scholarship’s website. This would open the doors to learning a new and less-common language including but not limited to Arabic, Portuguese, Swahili, Russian, Croatian or Zulu.
“TCC was the first junior college in the nation that had a student awarded with the Boren Scholarship,” said Floreen Henry, South assistant professor of French and ESL and TCC’s contact for the scholarship. “Money is set aside to encourage minorities from America that would like to study abroad — minorities including non-Caucasians and non-females are underrepresented.”
TCC’s first student recipient learned Lithuanian.
“He went directly into an intensive program, and he was highly successful,” Henry said.
To date, TCC has had two recipients of the Boren Scholarship, but the district doesn’t want to stop there.
“[The scholarship] tries to recruit students early in their career — freshmen and sophomores,” Henry said. “It’s really to the student’s benefit now.”
The scholarship committee encourages students with engineering or science majors to apply. However, any student with a declared major is eligible. With the scholarship, students will learn not only the fundamentals of the native language but also how it relates to their field of study. Previous experience with the native language is not required, but students must have an interest in foreign language or international studies.
Henry said students should consider the length of time they can commit.
“It’s highly competitive for a summer abroad,” she said. “If you’re paying the same [price] as someone to get there for a summer versus a year, the student should be willing to invest a year abroad.”
Depending on the program selected, the undergraduate recipient of the Boren Scholarship could receive up to $20,000 in funding to attend school abroad. In return, the student would commit to working within the U.S. federal government following graduation for at least one year.
For more information about the scholarship, go to www.borenawards.org. Students interested in applying should contact Henry for further information at 817-515-4628. The deadline for the preliminary information to be reviewed by Henry is Dec. 7.
