Three VCU Students Named NSEP/Boren Scholars

By Tom Gresham

Three Virginia Commonwealth University students were named recipients of the prestigious NSEP(National Security Education Program)/David L. Boren Scholarships on Monday and each will study abroad during the next academic year.

The NSEP/David L. Boren Scholarships are funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and provide up to $20,000 of support for students to study a foreign language and culture abroad for one academic year.  Approximately 140 students are selected for the undergraduate NSEP/Boren Scholarships each year from a pool of 700-800 applicants.

VCU students Kirsten June, Moriah Phillips and Matthew (Chris) Walker will each use the scholarship to study a foreign language abroad during the 2007-08 school year. Each is a member of the VCU Honors College. Phillips and Walker will postpone graduation one year to participate in the NSEP/Boren Scholarship program.

June, a junior from Seattle, Wash., plans to study Arabic in Amman, Jordan. June is majoring in International Studies and Political Science with a minor in Eastern Europe/Russia Area Studies. 

Phillips, a senior from Amherst, Va., plans to study Arabic in the United Arab Emirates. Phillips is majoring in International Studies and Political Science.

Walker, a senior from Richmond, Va., plans to study Romanian in Bucharest. Walker is majoring in International Studies with a minor in Urban Studies.

There were also three VCU students named alternates for the scholarships. They are Kristen Brooking, a junior from Orange, Va., who is majoring in International Studies and Spanish; Carolyn Morris, a sophomore from Mechanicsville, Va., who is majoring in International Studies with a minor in Religious Studies; and Michael (Ben) Sims, a sophomore from Midlothian, Va., who is majoring in History. Brooking proposed traveling to Brazil to study Portuguese, and Morris and Sims each proposed living in Turkey to study Turkish.