State Department Recogizes Bunker Hill Student

Lisa Kelley, a student at Bunker Hill Community College, has won a Critical Languages Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State. With the scholarship Kelley, who lives in Belmont, will study Chinese in China this summer. 

Kelley is one of 575 U.S. undergraduate and graduate students who will spend seven to 10 weeks in intensive language institutes this summer in 14 countries where critical languages such as Chinese, Arabic, Azerbaijani, Persian, and Russian are spoken, according to a press release from Bunker Hill Community College. The State Department chose Kelley from more than 5,200 applicants. The merit scholarships went to students representing all 50 states from a range of academic disciplines and U.S. colleges and universities.

The Critical Language Scholarship Program provides fully funded language instruction and cultural enrichment opportunities for students studying critical languages. The Intensive Summer Institutes began in 2006 to increase opportunities for U.S. students to study critical-need languages overseas.  The program is part of a wider U.S. government effort to expand the number of Americans mastering these languages. 

Bunker Hill Community College has led international education and cultural awareness through the creation of study-abroad programs tailored to the lives of community college students, whose jobs and family responsibilities can constrain time to travel. Students in the program have lived and studied in many countries, including China, Costa Rica, France, India, and Japan.