Tulane students receive prestigious Boren Awards to study abroad

The Institute of International Education awarded three Tulane University students Boren Awards to fund their international studies. Undergraduates Sidney Shea will study in Thailand and Celinda Chang will study in Japan with the support of the Boren Scholarship. Sedrick Miles, a Boren Fellow pursuing a PhD in Latin American Studies, will study in Brazil.

Boren Scholarships, an initiative of the National Security Education Program, provide unique funding opportunities for U.S. undergraduate students to study less commonly taught languages in regions critical to U.S. interests, and underrepresented in study abroad programs. These include Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America and the Middle East. In exchange for funding, Boren Scholars commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation.

Sedrick Miles will spend his Boren year conducting research for his doctoral dissertation. Miles is investigating international educational programming in STEM fields and hopes to develop an exchange program between first-generation Brazilian students and students from the American South. 

Celinda Chang heads to Tokyo next month, where she expects to improve her competency of the Japanese language and culture.

“I'm looking for the next level to challenge and advance my Japanese fluency and there's no better way to do it by living in-country for a year where I must utilize Japanese on a daily and casual basis,” Chang said.

Sidney Shea will be enrolled in a community development and globalization program along with an intensive language program in Khon Kaen, Thailand.

“Through the Boren Scholarship program, I hope to gain specific and relevant experiences in the field of international development, as well as skills in grassroots journalism, social justice activism, and an education on the interplay of human rights and environmental issues,” Shea said.