Michael O’Connell ’24 has been awarded a Boren Scholarship to study Russian in Kazakhstan during the 2024-25 academic year. O’Connell, a Russian and history double major, previously won a Critical Language Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State to participate in a language immersion program at Ilia State University in Tbilisi, Georgia. 
                                        
The David L. Boren Scholarships and Fellowships are sponsored by the National Security Education Program (NSEP), a component of the Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO). NSEP is a 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 overseas locations critical to the future security and stability of the United States. In exchange for funding, Boren award recipients agree to work in the federal government for a period of at least one year. “The National Security Education Program,” says Dr. Clare Bugary, Director of DLNSEO, “has transformed how U.S. higher education approaches the study of foreign languages and cultures of the work and provides Americans opportunities to learn, grow, and serve.”  

This year, the Institute of International Education (IIE), which administers the awards on behalf of NSEP, received 625 applications from undergraduate students and awarded 215 Boren Scholarships. Additionally, 245 graduate students applied for the Boren Fellowships and 105 were awarded. The selected Boren Scholars and Fellows intend to study in 42 overseas locations throughout Africa, Asia, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. They will study 33 different languages. The most popular languages include Mandarin, Arabic, Russian, Portuguese, Korean, Swahili, Turkish, Japanese, and Indonesian. 

Since 1994, over 7,800 students have received Boren Awards and contributed their vital skills to careers in support of critical agency missions throughout the federal government. “To continue to play a leadership role in the world, it is vital that America's future leaders have a deep understanding of the rest of the world,” says former U.S. Senator David Boren, the principal author of the legislation that created NSEP. “As we seek to lead through partnerships, understanding of other cultures and languages is absolutely essential.”