START students will take flight across the globe this summer after earning the nation’s most prestigious student accolades and awards: five START students earned Boren Scholarships from the Department of Defense, five earned Critical Language Scholarships from the Department of State and one earned a coveted place as a finalist for the University Medal, the University of Maryland’s highest student award.
”START is most well-known as a research center, but I believe that our most meaningful contribution to the academic and professional community is the cadre of students that we help to educate, train and hopefully to inspire,” said William Braniff, START’s executive director.
Boren Scholarship Winners
Nearly half of the University of Maryland students to win Boren Scholarships were affiliated with START through the Global Terrorism Minor, research internships or both. The Boren Scholarship, a Department of Defense award, provides up to $20,000 for long-term (two semester or longer), language-focused study abroad. The scholarship is designed for students with a serious interest in using their language and regional knowledge skills in US Government service. About 1000 students compete for approximately 160 Boren Scholarships annually. Maryland ranked # 1 in the nation for Boren Scholarships for the previous two award years.
The START students to receive Boren Scholarships are:
- Molly Bernstein (award to study Arabic in Morocco)
Bernstein is a senior in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences majoring in Government and Politics and Arabic Studies, and minoring in Global Terrorism Studies as well as International Development and Conflict Management. She is a member of the Arabic Flagship Program. In spring 2013 she studied abroad in Amman, Jordan. Bernstein participated in the U.S. Foreign Policy concentration of the Federal Semester Program and completed an internship with the Center for American Progress. Bernstein earned a citation in International Studies from the College Park Scholars program.
- Patrick Niceforo (award to study Korean in South Korea)
Niceforo is a senior in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences majoring in Government and Politics and minoring in Global Terrorism as well as Korean Studies. Last spring he studied abroad at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. Niceforo is a participant in the Global Semester program through which is currently interning at the American Foreign Service Association’s Executive Office. Previously he was a Special Projects Division Intern with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Reponses to Terrorism. Niceforo earned a citation from the living-learning program CIVICUS. He was also awarded a Critical Language Scholarship for his studies.
- Lea Patch (award to study Korean in South Korea)
Patch is a senior in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences majoring in Criminology and Criminal Justice and Psychology. She is also minoring in Global Terrorism and Korean Studies. Last spring Patch studied at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. Patch participated in the Homeland Security Policy concentration of the Federal Semester Program and is now interning with the Office of Policy and Strategy at the Department of Homeland Security. Previous internships include the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. She earned a citation from the living-learning program CIVICUS.
- Kelsey Tremble (award to study French and Wolof in Senegal)
Tremble is a senior in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences majoring in Government and Politics and minoring in Global Terrorism Studies and French Studies. Currently Tremble is interning with the Naval Research Laboratory, Office of Adversarial Modeling and Exploitation. Previously she was a special projects intern with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. Tremble is a participant in the Honors Humanities program in the Honors College.
- Amy Waterhouse (award to study Arabic in Morocco)
Waterhouse is a senior within the College of Arts and Humanities, majoring in Arabic Studies and French Language and Literature, and minoring in Global Terrorism Studies. She is a member of the Arabic Flagship Program. Last fall she was a project intern with the Naval Research Laboratory and last summer she was an open source intelligence intern with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. In fall 2012 Waterhouse studied in France at the University of Nice. She participated in the living-learning program Beyond the Classroom and is a member of the University Honors Program.
Critical Language Scholarship
More than half of the nine University of Maryland students to win Critical Language Scholarships affiliated with START. A program of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the scholarships offer formal classroom language instruction overseas for a minimum of 20 hours per week. Extracurricular activities are designed to supplement the formal curriculum, including regular one-on-one meetings with native speaker language partners for conversational practice, as well as cultural activities and excursions designed to expand students’ understanding of the history, politics, culture and daily life of their host country. Program costs – airfare, tuition, room and board, cultural program expenses, overseas health benefits, and applicable visa fees – are fully covered for all participants.
START students who earned Critical Language Scholarships are:
- Zane Buckey (award to study Chinese in China)
Buckey is a senior in the College of Arts and Humanities majoring in Chinese and minoring in Geographic Information Systems as well as Global Terrorism. In 2012-13 Buckey studied at the Beijing center for Chinese Studies with a Boren Scholarship. Last summer he interned at the National Bureau of Asian Research in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Chinese “cluster” at Language House.
- Maya Hardimon (award to study Arabic in Oman)
Hardimon is a sophomore in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences majoring in Government and Politics. Last spring she was a research intern with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. Hardimon
- Katherine Martin (award to study Russian in Russia)
Martin is a senior in the College of Arts and Humanities majoring in Russian Language and Literature and minoring in Global Terrorism. She is studying abroad for the academic year at Russian State Pedagogical University in St. Petersburg, Russia with a Boren Scholarship. She has completed government internships at the city, state, and federal levels. Most recently she interned with the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police in the Homeland Security Bureau.
- Patrick Niceforo
(He was also awarded a Boren Scholarship. His description is above.)
- Claire Weber (award to study Urdu in India)
Weber is a junior in the College of Computer, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences majoring in Geographical Sciences and Ecology. She is also minoring in Global Terrorism. Weber studied Urdu for two semesters with the FOLA program. Currently she is interning with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. She is also a member of the Gemstone Program in the Honors College.
University Medal Finalist
The University Medal is awarded by the President each year at the May Commencement ceremony to the single, most outstanding graduating senior of that academic year. The Medal recognizes the graduating senior who best represents academic distinction, exemplary character, and service to the campus or public communities. Finalists are recognized as one of the top five graduating students out of a class of about 5,600.
- Melanie Rothman
Rothman is part of START’s competitive Emerging Global Security Issues (EGSI) Fellowship Program. Funded through the Department of Homeland Security’s Career Development Program, the EGSI Fellowship provides tuition and stipends as students complete a two-year research course designed to introduce students to different counterterrorism research methods and help them develop expertise in specific conflicts. Rothman was accepted into the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and will take part in its Security Studies Program next fall pursuing a master’s degree.