Since 2010, I have studied the critical language of Mandarin Chinese and have met significant success in my own educational journey. In April 2016 for example, I was awarded the first Benjamin A. Gilman International scholarship at Morehouse College. In junction with the Gilman scholarship, I've been selected to participate in a Summer program at Shanghai University in China to study Mandarin Chinese and to assess the eco-political climate of the most populated city on Earth.

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship

The Gilman International Scholar program, funded in part by the US Department of State and the International Institute of Education, aims to diversify the type of students who study abroad.

Following my experience this Fall, I am committed to a unique follow-on service project partnering with an E-learning web platform to develop a series of online training videos to share the fundamentals of Mandarin with an aim to present the language to underrepresented communities to in the Chinese speaking population.

Becoming a Gilman International scholar has been a rewarding and unique experience thus far. In tandem with this opportunity, I look forward to be a true standout for other scholarships, programs, and fellowships that I would love to share with others to look out for in the 2016-2017 academic year.

Critical Language Scholarship

In addition to the Benjamin A. Gilman scholarship, the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) is another program funded by the US Department of State. The program has sent over 5,000 American undergraduate and graduate students overseas to learn critical languages all over the world.

The CLS program is a fully funded summer language and cultural immersion program for American students in both their undergraduate and graduate studies. The goal of this program is to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical languages and building relationships between the US and other countries.

See a list of the critical languages and find out more information about them here.

The Fulbright Program

Like the Benjamin A. Gilman scholarship, the Fulbright Program is supported by both the US Department of State and the division of the Institute of International Education (IIE) known as the Counsel for International Exchange of Scholars.

The Fulbright Program is a premiere educational exchange program sponsored by the US government and is designed to increase the understanding, the awareness, and the relationships between the US and the people of other countries. Every year, more than 300 scholars and professionals with exceptional expertise in their fields participate in programs to heighten their experience and demonstrate aptitudes for global service.

The Fulbright program holds a list of grants to support teaching and research abroad with activity in more than 160 countries. Find out more information on programs with Fulbright here.

CIEE Scholarships and Grants

The Council for International Educational Exchange (CIEE) is an organization that is the nations leader in producing study abroad and intercultural exchange programs that set and raise the standards for international education.

CIEE prides itself on its number one priority of creating quality programs by taking action to ensure that programs meet the needs and expectations of program participants. In addition to an emphasis on the setting itself apart in quality, CIEE prides itself in setting differences in access, rigor, language, options, people, partners, alignment and developing innovative solutions for globally savvy students of today and tomorrow.

Find out more information on CIEE's diverse list of scholarships and grants for students of diverse academic, ethnic, and economic backgrounds.

Blakemore Freeman Fellowship

The Freeman Foundation was created by Thomas and Frances Blakemore who spent more than 50 years living and working in Japan. Since 1990, the foundation has awarded over $14 million to individuals in language grants in both Asian and East Asian concentrations.

The Blakemore Freeman Fellowship is a unique fellowship fund that supports an academic year of advanced language study abroad in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and selected Southeast Asian language. Although this program like the ones listed above is highly competitive, it offers the rewarding opportunity to a diverse list of backgrounds in fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), international business, accounting law, journalism, medicine, and more!

For more information on the Blakemore Freeman Foundation's Graduate Fellowship or Blakemore Refresher Grants, designed to offer mid-career opportunities to professionals seeking to refresh their advanced Asian language, visit the foundations website here!