October is the busiest month on the national and international scholarship calendar. Some of the most prestigious scholarships have set their due dates at the start of the academic year to allow for a multi-step review process before awarding opportunities that begin the following year. We have students applying for the Rhodes and Fulbright. For the first time, we have students applying for the Brooke Owens and the PD Soros. All these scholarships seek students who bring a creative vision to their work. Creativity, considered by many as the highest level of intellectual activity, requires integrating ideas from multiple years of learning into a meaningful and interesting product or proposal.

They didn’t know it, but these students began building their applications long before they put pen to paper. Through their classes they have taken notice of a topic that raises deep interest or even concern. They devoted time and energy examining multiple dimensions of that topic, allowing their emerging thoughts and opinions to marinate. Their scholarship applications allow them to describe how to activate newly discovered Aha moments about their passion project. They do all this while showing the mental discipline of time management and perseverance. I stand in awe of the grace under fire shown by just beginning their professional journeys.

I want to congratulate these students for dreaming so big and laying bare their inner passions for rigorous scrutiny that these scholarship reviewers will do. They have embarked on the next phase of their journey: learning that all creative ideas will be met with some degree of corrective feedback by the experts. They need to trust their instincts and keep moving forward. The best part of working with these students is knowing that they have already accomplished so much.

Yee Han Chu PhD MSSW

Academic Support and Fellowship Opportunities Coordinator

What were the goals of the CLS classes? What were the stated expectations for students?

The primary goal of the classes were to improve language ability in the Azerbaijani language. There were also political and cultural components. The language aspect included reading, writing, and oral communication. Students were expected to attend class each day, complete the homework every evening, and study. There were tests as well.

Tell us about how these classes were arranged (e.g. when did you start and end, number of students in the class, how often did you meet, when did you meet, etc.).

Students were placed into three groups. Complete beginner, Advanced beginner, and Intermediate. Although I was a complete beginner, I was placed in the advanced beginner group due to my previous language experience and the pre-program assessment. There were 15 students total, and 6 of us were place in the advanced beginner group. Monday through Friday we would meet over Microsoft Teams with our professor for two hours in the morning. Every student would have a 30 minute one-on-one session with our professor each week, Wednesdays we would have an hour meeting as an entire group with a different topic each week, and Thursdays we would have an hour-long cultural activies, which were very interactive. One week a tour guide brought us on a virtual tour of a famous museum, and another week we went to a farmers market and practiced purchasing things. Each student was also assigned a “language partner,” a student attending the University of Azerbaijan, with whom we would have to video chat with for 2 hours every week. This was to practice informal conversation with someone our age.

Who taught these classrooms?

Classes were taught by professors at the University of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is 9 hours ahead of central time, so classes were always done by 1-2 in the afternoon. It was really wonderful working with my professors, they were great. There was also a program coordinator who was American and spoke fluently in Azerbaijani, so if there were ever any technical issues she was there to help.

What surprised you about these classes? What did you enjoy? Or did not enjoy about these classes?

I’m surprised by how much I took out of them. Admittedly, being on the computer for many hours a day was tiring, but the experience was very immersive. I built great relationships with my peers and professors. I enjoyed the closeness that I felt with everyone in the program and the intensity of language learning. The only thing that could have made it better would have been physically going to Azerbaijan as opposed to participating in the program online.

What was the funniest thing that happened?

There were many funny moments in the class, many of them having to do with either the students messing up while speaking Azerbaijani, or professors having questions about English (although they spoke very well).

What did you (actually) learn in these classes?

I learned a lot about how Azerbaijan transitioned to the country it is now after it separated from the Soviet Union, along with the relationships that it has with surrounding countries like Armenia, Iran, and Turkey. I learned about their government, culture, traditions, food, and religion. Linguistically, I learned many things, one of them being the similarities shared between Azerbaijani and Turkish. My language skills improved greatly. I am able to express myself and understand others in basic conversation, as well as understand grammatical structures.

How will use these skills in the future?

With plans to work in foreign service, Azerbaijani could prove to be very useful, either for a remote position in the United States, or things like embassy work in Azerbaijan, Turkey, or Iran. There are many other doors that could be opened as well due to knowing a critical language.

What did you learn about yourself? Would you do this again and why?

I learned that I really enjoy working with diverse groups of people. My peers all came from different backgrounds and lived in different places, as well as our language partners and professors. I would absolutely do it again. The education was definitely of great quality, and it was a very enriching experience.

The CLS Program is part of a U.S. government effort to expand dramatically the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. Students of diverse disciplines and majors are encouraged to apply. Participants are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship period, and later apply their critical language skills in their future professional careers.

The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is a summer study abroad opportunity for American college and university students to learn languages essential to America’s engagement with the world. Students will receive rigorous academic instruction in one of fifteen languages that are critical to America's national security and economic prosperity. CLS participants are citizen ambassadors, sharing American values and promoting American influence abroad. Language options:

• No Previous Study Required (Indonesian, Azerbaijani, Turkish, Persian, Bangla, Hindi, Bunjabi, Urdu, Swahili)

• One Year Prior Study Required (Korean, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese)
• Two Years Prior Study Required (Japanese, Chinese)

SMART Scholars are among the most talented and innovative minds in STEM with a mission to support the United States and protect national security. SMART Scholars are provided with the tools required to pursue their STEM education and begin their career in a prestigious civilian position with the Department of Defense (DoD).

Benefits include:

• Full tuition and education related educational expenses (meal plans, housing, and parking not included)
• Stipend paid at a rate of $25,000 - $38,000 a year depending on degree level (may be prorated depending on award length)
• Summer research internships ranging from 8 to 12 weeks
• Health Insurance allowance of up to $1,200 per academic year
• Miscellaneous allowance of up to $1,000 per academic year
• An experience mentor at one of the Sponsoring Facilities
• Employment placement at a DoD facility upon degree completion.

https://lmigov.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItd-CqrD8vHKAoKU622iptauwBIqexdpY

RISE stands for Research Internships in Science and Engineering. RISE Germany offers undergraduate students from North American, British and Irish universities the opportunity to complete a summer research internship at top German universities and research institutions. RISE Germany is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.

• Students are matched with a host university or institute according to their area of interest (biology, chemistry, physics, earth sciences, engineering, or a closely related field)
• DAAD provides students a monthly stipend for three months to help cover living expenses
• Host universities, universities of applied sciences (UAS) and institutes provide housing assistance and match students with Ph.D. student mentors or researchers (only UAS)
• German language is not required and the working language will be in English

DUE 12.5.21. Please see yee.chu@und.edu if interested.

October

• Gilman 10.5.21
  
• Gilman-McCain 10.5.21
  
• Rhodes 10.6.21
  

• Knight Hennessy 10.6.21
  
• Brooke Owens 10.8.21
  
• Fulbright US Student Program 10.12.21
• Scholarship America Dream Award 10.15.21
  
• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship 10.18.21-10.22.21 (Different Due Dates Depending on the Discipline)
  
• PD Soros 10.28.21
  

November

• CBYX-Young Professional 11.1.21

• Critical Language Scholarship 11.16.21

December

• DoD SMART Scholarship 12.1.21
• DAAD-RISE Germany 12.15.21
• Ford Foundation Fellowships 12.16.21

January

• James C. Gather Junior Fellows Program 1.15.22
  
• Goldwater 1.21.22 (Campus Due Date: 12.20.21)
  
• Boren Fellowship 1.26.22
  
• Humanity in Action TBD
  

February

• NOAA Hollings 2.1.22

• Truman 2.1.22
• Boren Scholarship 2.2.22
  
• Fulbright UK Summer Institutes Early February
  
• Rangel Summer Enrichment 2.9.22
• Pat Tillman Scholarship TBD
  

March

• Udall 3.2.22

Email: yee.chu@und.edu
Website: https://und.edu/academics/national-scholarships/
Location: Columbia Hall, Room B307 501 North Columbia Road, Stop 7187 Grand Forks, ND 58202-7187
Phone: (701) 777-4436
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/108818960563786/posts/196605401785141/?d=n&substory_index=0