BOONE, N.C. — Logan Cleary, a junior English major at Appalachian State University with a concertation in creative writing, recently received news he was selected for a Critical Language Scholarship. Cleary, a native of Lexington, will travel to Hikone, Japan, this summer and study Japanese in an immersive cultural setting.

Cleary said receiving a CLS is directly related to his future goals. “CLS is my second steppingstone to achieving my career aspirations of becoming an English teacher in Japan! I still have a long ways to go, and I am so thankful to represent the Appalachian Community at the absolute best of my ability,” he said.

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.

Cleary offered encouragement for other students who have applied, or are thinking of applying to the program: “Do not get worried if you are selected as an alternate because there is still hope! I ended up receiving my acceptance as an alternate, so patience is a virtue!”

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. Cleary is among approximately 550 U.S. undergraduate and graduate students who received a CLS in 2018.

To be eligible for the CLS Japanese Program, Cleary 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.

For more information about how to apply for the CLS Program and other awards, contact ncs@appstate.edu or visit https://ncs.appstate.edu/find-award.

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.

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.