UAB computer science student Jack Brough will spend eight weeks in Taiwan expanding his understanding of Chinese through language immersion. The University of Alabama at Brimingham is not a stranger to its students achieving greatness. College of Arts and Sciences and Honors College student Jack Brough has received the exceptionally competitive United States Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship.
A native of Harpersville, Alabama, Brough is working toward a degree in computer science with a minor in Chinese.
“The Critical Language Scholarship has given me an invaluable opportunity to further my goal of serving as a Foreign Service Officer for the United States,” Brough said. “Language immersion is a substantial piece of a well-rounded language journey, and I am thrilled to participate in CLS this summer as a UAB student in Taiwan.”
More than 4,500 students applied to be in the running for the Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship, and approximately 315 were selected as recipients. .
The Critical Language Scholarship is a unique, fully funded study abroad opportunity for American college undergraduate and graduate students to be immersed in languages that are vital to the future of the United States.
Brough will travel to Taiwan to study the Chinese language. Throughout the eight weeks he will spend in East Asia, Brough will obtain a year’s worth of language study.
“CLS is the perfect opportunity for a student like Jack, who hopes for a future in foreign service,” said Michelle Cook, Ph.D., director of National and International Fellowships at UAB. “Language and cultural immersion through CLS will give him knowledge he won’t get anywhere else.”
Three additional students from UAB were selected as alternates, and two of the alternates are previous Critical Language Scholarship recipients. Jenna Hooper of Madison, Alabama, applied to focus on Chinese, and Waijiha Mekki from Lawrenceville, Georgia, applied to study Arabic. Hooper and Mekki are two previous recipients who were selected as alternates. Maria Chacha of Huntsville, Alabama, who applied to pursue Swahili, is the third alternate. All three alternates are a part of the UAB Honors College.