Boren Scholars Reflect on Their Experiences Ahead of Upcoming Deadline

The Boren Awards provide scholarships for undergraduates or graduating seniors to study abroad for the summer or a semester in regions that are critical to U.S. security and are not widely studied in the U.S. Interested students can attend an info session on Nov. 12 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Quita Woodward Room and contact Eleanor Stanford for more information.

Below, hear from two alums who received the Boren Scholarship about their time abroad and how their experiences informed their post-grad plans.

Fellowships 

Ashlyn Darling '24

Almaty, Kazakhstan
For the Boren, I am studying in Almaty, Kazakhstan, at KazNU al-Farabi, studying the Russian language and a little bit of Kazakh. I use my Boren in tandem with my participation in the Russian Flagship Program. Every weekday is just about a typical college student’s day, except I live with a host mom (who is GREAT) instead of in a dorm or my own apartment. I get up, eat breakfast with my host mom, and then attend classes. Afterward, I try visiting different restaurants around the city with friends for lunch and usually end up at one of our favorite cafes to work together until returning home. On the weekends, there are so many places in the city to have fun day and night. Still, my favorite activities are probably when we have excursions with the program because we get to see more of Kazakhstan, which is a very beautiful country.

Bryn Mawr helped me with the Boren in a very similar way they helped me with the Flagship, as for me they go hand in hand. The application process seemed daunting to me when I heard about it in my first year. Still, once the time came to fill it out senior year, I realized my four years of preparation with the Russian department made it really easy to focus my application around my own goals, and fill out the Russian section as well. For Boren specifically, you don’t need as much prior experience in the target language, but with the addition of being prepped for the Flagship program, I think I had an easier time being concise and specific about my learning goals and my approach to tackling them. 

At first, Boren, presented me with an opportunity to travel and open new doors for myself while I figured out my own path. Now that I’m actually a recipient, I’ve realized that way more doors are open than I could have imagined. At Bryn Mawr, I studied both Psychology and Russian and have been able to make more connections than I would have been able to without going abroad. For example, I now have an internship where I provide support to those with mental health needs in Almaty. I’ve also had several perspective changes that have helped me better see where I want to fit myself in the world and where I might be the most useful post-program.

If you’re thinking about applying, go for it! Join Flagship too! Both have turned into some of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and I am even more proud to be a Bryn Mawr alumna for how well I was prepared to tackle all these new adventures.

Saskia Holman '21

Dakar, Senegal
For my Boren, I studied in Wolof in Dakar, Senegal, where I lived with a Senegalese host family. I took classes through Academic Programs Abroad (APA) and then the Baobab Center. My classes were generally for 15-20 hours a week and a mix of individual and group classes. I was able to do an internship with La Parole aux Jeunes, a local non-profit organization focusing on sexual and reproductive health. I also did a translation project on digital literacy and cyberbullying with another non-profit organization.

Professor Armstrong of the French department introduced me to the Boren Program and encouraged me to apply. She was also a huge source of support with all of the COVID-related uncertainty that followed during that period. Living in Senegal was very much also a French immersion experience, for which the French department and my French professors prepared me well.

My Boren experience really opened up my world and gave me the opportunity to deeply engage with a culture and language in a way I never had before. I loved my time in Senegal and was lucky enough to stay longer as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. I now work in the policy space, particularly in US-Africa relations. I plan to keep working on African issues and maintain my language ability and connections to Senegal!