Criminal Justice Major Receives Boren Scholarship to Study at Hebrew University

Courtesy of Mattie Harris

Mattie Harris

Mattie Harris of Springdale has been awarded a Boren Scholarship to study in Israel during the 2018-19 academic year. Harris is an undergraduate student in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences majoring in criminal justice with a minor in Arabic. She will study intensive Arabic at Hebrew University's Rothberg International School in Jerusalem.

David L. Boren Scholarships and Fellowships are sponsored by the National Security Education Program, a major federal initiative designed to build a broader and more qualified pool of U.S. citizens with foreign language and international skills. Boren Awards provide U.S. undergraduate and graduate students with resources and encouragement to acquire language skills and experience in countries critical to the future security and stability of our nation. In exchange for funding, Boren Award recipients agree to work in the federal government for a period of at least one year. The Institute of International Education administers the awards on behalf of the National Security Education Program.

"Mattie was selected as one of 221 scholarship recipients out of an applicant pool of 794," says DeDe Long, director of study abroad and campus adviser for the Boren Awards. "Interest in expanding her understanding of languages and cultures in the Middle East combined with a desire to pursue a career in the federal national security arena made her an ideal candidate for this prestigious national award." 

Boren Scholars and Fellows will live in 38 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. They will study 33 different languages. The most popular languages include Arabic, Mandarin, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, Swahili, and Korean. "To continue to play a leadership role in the world, it is vital that America's future leaders have a deep understanding of the rest of the world," says University of Oklahoma President David Boren, who as a U.S. senator was the principal author of the legislation that created the National Security Education Program and the scholarships and fellowships that bear his name.

The 2019-2020 competition cycle will open in the early fall. Undergraduate and graduate students interested in applying for the Boren Awards should visit www.borenawards.org and contact DeDe Long at dslong@uark.edu.