Wells’ advice to students interested in applying for the CLS Program: “Don’t give up, and seek out ways to develop your resume and yourself.”

Shannon Wells, senior global studies major at Appalachian

BOONE, N.C. — When it comes to applying for the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program, for Appalachian State University senior Shannon Wells, the third time’s the charm. Wells, a Wilmington native and global studies major at Appalachian, was recently awarded a Critical Language Scholarship to continue her study of the Japanese language, as well as Japanese culture, this summer in Hikone, Japan.

The CLS Program is offered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and allows students to study a critical need language through a fully funded, intensive summer program overseas.

This May, Wells will travel to Hikone and spend the summer studying Japanese in an immersive cultural setting at the University of Shiga Prefecture. In addition to increasing her Japanese language proficiency, she will have the opportunity to study Japanese culture. Traditional Japanese folk dancing and studying with a calligraphy master at a local Buddhist temple are already on Wells’ calendar of events.

Wells said she has “been applying to this program for over three years now,” and attributes her success to her ability to view “each rejection as an opportunity to improve.”

“My sophomore year, I studied abroad in Kyoto, Japan; my junior year, I worked with a Japanese prefectural unit in Seattle, Washington, over the summer; and this year, I have taken on several leadership positions around campus,” Wells said.

She emphasized that, while she did not pursue these prior opportunities specifically to receive a CLS, they did allow her the opportunity to “become competitive and more prepared for future endeavors.”

Nationwide, about 5,500 students applied for the CLS Program, which offers overseas language and cultural immersion programs in 14 different languages: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish and Urdu. Wells is among approximately 550 U.S. undergraduate and graduate students who received a CLS in 2018.

To be eligible for the CLS Japanese Program, she needed two years of prior Japanese study. However, most languages offered by the CLS Program do not require applicants to have previous experience, as the goal of the program is to increase the number of Americans studying critical foreign languages.

Wells received a Study Abroad Scholarship supported by The Appalachian Fund in 2016-17, which funded her travel to Kyoto, Japan, where she studied Japanese at Ritsumeikan University. During her study abroad, Wells also received a scholarship from the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO). The scholarship provided 80,000 yen, or approximately $700 per month of her stay.

Her advice to students interested in applying for a CLS is “don’t give up, and seek out ways to develop your resume and yourself.”

For more information about how to apply for the CLS Program and other awards, please contact Nationally Competitive Scholarships at [email protected] or visit https://ncs.appstate.edu.

Applicants from diverse backgrounds, academic majors and regions of the U.S. are encouraged to apply.

About Nationally Competitive Scholarships

Nationally Competitive Scholarships (NCS) works with the Appalachian community to recruit and support students for nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships, including those that support research, teaching and critical language learning. This is achieved with outreach, mentorship and advising throughout the entire application and selection process. NCS is committed to helping undergraduate and graduate students find ways to connect their Appalachian education to their future endeavors through scholarship opportunities. Learn more at https://ncs.appstate.edu.

About the College of Arts and Sciences

The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at https://cas.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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