Spencer Hazeslip, a biochemistry and Spanish major, has been awarded a Critical Language Scholarship to study critical languages during summer 2021.

Hazeslip joins three other U of A students who are also part of the Critical Language Scholarship Program.

Critical Language Scholars gain critical language and cultural skills that enable them to contribute to U.S. economic competitiveness and national security.

Hazeslip, who has been studying Spanish for several years, is studying Russian through the CLS Program. "The program I am doing is held at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgysztan. I am now two weeks into the program, and it provides a deeper, more focused study of the language."

The program also provides a language partner who he meets with twice per week for one-hour conversation sessions to supplement his language acquisition.

"That's my favorite part of the program so far," he explained. "It's so beneficial to be able to speak Russian with someone from another country who speaks it as well while I am studying remotely in Arkansas."

Read the full article on the WLLC News & Events page.