August 18, 2022

Congratulations to Coley Ferguson (BSBA Real Estate Management & Development ’25), Drexel’s first CLS Spark recipient!

CLS Spark is a pilot virtual initiative for U.S. undergraduate students to learn languages essential to America’s engagement with the world. Designed to leverage best practices in online language learning developed by the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program during the pandemic, CLS Spark provides American students the opportunity to study critical languages virtually when they may not have access to language learning on their campuses or the ability to travel overseas. Participants will spend an academic year learning either Arabic, Chinese or Russian through online classes and activities facilitated by native speakers at a host institution abroad. We’re very proud that Coley’s hard work and initiative have been recognized through this program.

Coley Ferguson
BSBA Real Estate Management & Development ’25
CLS Spark Recipient to study Mandarin Chinese
Coley Ferguson is a U.S. Air Force veteran with experience in logistics management, an international flight attendant, and a pre-junior currently enrolled as a Real Estate Management and Development major. She has accepted a co-op with a London-based investment firm that focuses on global markets and emerging markets such as China. She will use her CLS Spark scholarship to study Mandarin Chinese with Tamkang University in New Taipei City, Taiwan.

A program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program and CLS Spark are part of a U.S. government initiative to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering foreign languages that are critical to national security and economic prosperity. 

Want to learn more? Visit the CLS Spark website or our Critical Language Scholarship Program award page. Questions? Email UREP at fellowships@drexel.edu.