April 22, 2021

Congratulations to the two Drexel students who have been designated as Alternates for the prestigious Boren Awards! The Boren Awards recognize students who demonstrate strong academic achievement and commitment to study language and work in regions critical to U.S. national interests.

We congratulate these students for their hard work during the application process and wish them the best for the future!

Rini Jose
PhD student, Epidemiology
Faculty Mentor: Seth Welles, PhD, ScD
Boren Fellowship Alternate to Israel
 Rini is a 3rd-year doctoral candidate in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Dornsife School of Public Health, advised by Dr. Seth Welles, Ph.D., ScD. Rini's dissertation research is focused on exploring the community and individual-level determinants of the hepatitis C virus in Philadelphia. Prior to coming to Drexel, Rini worked at the Department of Health for the State of New Jersey, focused on healthcare-associated infections and infection prevention. Rini holds a Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology and a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and environmental studies, both from Emory University.

Julia Langmuir
BS/MPH Global Studies/Epidemiology '24, Honors
Boren Scholarship Alternate to Senegal
Julia is currently on the BA/MPH accelerated track pursuing her bachelor's degree in Global Studies with a concentration in Global Health and Sustainability and a minor in French. She is interested in the fields of international development, infectious disease, and maternal and child health. Julia is a Dornsife Global Development Scholar and was selected to work with World Vision in Senegal in 2020 before the program was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After studying French for six years, she looks forward to learning Wolof in Senegal and hopes to apply the language and cultural skills gained through this experience to her career goals in global health.

The Boren Awards, an initiative of the National Security Education Program (NSEP), fund undergraduate and graduate US citizens to study less commonly taught languages in world regions that are critical to U.S. national security and under-represented in study abroad. The awards promote long term cultural and linguistic immersion in countries in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Boren applicants are highly motivated individuals with an interest in serving in the federal national security arena. In exchange for funding, Boren awardees commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation.

For more information, visit our Boren Awards page or contact fellowships@drexel.edu.

Since 1994, over 7,000 students have received Boren Awards and contributed their vital skills to careers in support of the critical missions of agencies throughout the federal government. “To continue to play a leadership role in the world, it is vital that America's future leaders have a deep understanding of the rest of the world,” says former U.S. Senator David Boren, the principal author of the legislation that created the National Security Education Program. “As we seek to lead through partnerships, understanding of other cultures and languages is absolutely essential.”

An independent not-for-profit founded in 1919, IIE is among the world's largest and most experienced international education and exchange organizations. Undergraduate and graduate students interested in applying for the Boren Awards should contact IIE at boren@iie.org or visit www.borenawards.org.