Eleven undergrads selected for study abroad grants

Five Harvard students have been awarded grants by the National Security Education Program (NSEP), and another six have received grants from the Freeman-Asia Program. The Institute of International Education administers both grants.

“It is an indication of the very high quality of the proposals we received that 11 of the 20 applications were funded,” said Leslie Hill, assistant director of Harvard’s Office of International Programs, which endorses the students’ applications.

NSEP awards were granted to Joseph Badino ’05 for Chinese language and business study; Whaed Gardezi ’07 for Arabic study; Daniel Kahn ’06 for Russian study; Iliana Montauk ’06 for Egyptian colloquial Arabic study; and Cristina Valverde ’06 for Arabic and Moroccan culture study.

Freeman-Asia Grants were award to Rebecca Crosbie ’05 for Japanese language study, and to the following students to study Chinese: Anais Borja ’05, Christina Hung ’06, Tiffany Hung ’06, Matthew Pagano ’06, and Peter Ross ’06.

NSEP grants scholarships to U.S. citizens for undergraduate study in world regions critical to U.S. interests. Students who receive the summer, semester, or academic year grants are required to seek employment with a federal agency or office involved in national security affairs for a period of time equivalent to their study abroad term.

The Freeman-Asia Awards are granted to U.S. citizens or permanent residents who demonstrate financial need and have little or no previous experience in the country in which they plan to study. The primary goal of the program is to increase the number of students who study in East and Southeast Asia. Awardees will be expected to share their experiences with Harvard students when they return to campus.

Application deadlines for these grants range from three to nine months before the period of study begins. Students interested in receiving funding for spring 2005, or summer, fall, and academic year 2005-06, should contact the Office of International Programs at (617) 496-2722, or visit http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~oip.