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Lyons, N.Y. —
Jason Oaks of Macedon, a PhD candidate in International Relations at Cornell University, has been awarded a United States Department of State Critical Language Scholarship to study Mandarin Chinese in China during the summer.
One of 575 United States undergraduate and graduate students who received a scholarship, his program, based in Shanghai, will run eight weeks and provide group-based intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences.
Participants are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship and apply their critical language skills in their future professional careers. Critical Language Scholarship used a merit-based selection process and made their selections from over 5,200 applicants from across the country. Other scholarship winners will learn Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla/Bengali, Hindi, Korean, Indonesian, Japanese, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish and Urdu languages.
The United States Department of State launched the Critical language Scholarships for Intensive Summer Institutes in 2006 to increase opportunities for American students to study critical-need languages overseas. The program is part of a wider government effort to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical languages.
Oaks, a 2005 graduate of Palmyra-Macedon High School and a 2009 graduate of Haverford College, majored in East Asian Studies.
He developed an interest in East Asia during his school work with Greg Russell, teacher in the International Baccalaureate program at the high school and began his Chinese language study as a freshman at Haverford College in the bi-college program shared with Bryn Mawr College.
Oaks has previously studied in China focusing on Chinese language, culture, history and government studies through summer programs in Beijing and Huangshi, as well as another Critical Language Scholarship sponsored summer program in Suhzou. He also studied in Harbin for a semester in his junior year of college.
“The Critical languages Program is an important resource for building the United State’s capacity of fluency in languages vital to our national security in the 21st century,” said Oaks. “I have been fortunate to receive funding and I look forward to continue building on my Chinese language skills. “It will only strengthen my base as I return to Cornell in the fall to continue my research and teaching about this important part of the world.”
Oaks is the son of Bob and Judy Oaks of Macedon.
Jason Oaks of Macedon, a PhD candidate in International Relations at Cornell University, has been awarded a United States Department of State Critical Language Scholarship to study Mandarin Chinese in China during the summer.
One of 575 United States undergraduate and graduate students who received a scholarship, his program, based in Shanghai, will run eight weeks and provide group-based intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences.
Participants are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship and apply their critical language skills in their future professional careers. Critical Language Scholarship used a merit-based selection process and made their selections from over 5,200 applicants from across the country. Other scholarship winners will learn Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla/Bengali, Hindi, Korean, Indonesian, Japanese, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish and Urdu languages.
The United States Department of State launched the Critical language Scholarships for Intensive Summer Institutes in 2006 to increase opportunities for American students to study critical-need languages overseas. The program is part of a wider government effort to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical languages.
Oaks, a 2005 graduate of Palmyra-Macedon High School and a 2009 graduate of Haverford College, majored in East Asian Studies.
He developed an interest in East Asia during his school work with Greg Russell, teacher in the International Baccalaureate program at the high school and began his Chinese language study as a freshman at Haverford College in the bi-college program shared with Bryn Mawr College.
Oaks has previously studied in China focusing on Chinese language, culture, history and government studies through summer programs in Beijing and Huangshi, as well as another Critical Language Scholarship sponsored summer program in Suhzou. He also studied in Harbin for a semester in his junior year of college.
“The Critical languages Program is an important resource for building the United State’s capacity of fluency in languages vital to our national security in the 21st century,” said Oaks. “I have been fortunate to receive funding and I look forward to continue building on my Chinese language skills. “It will only strengthen my base as I return to Cornell in the fall to continue my research and teaching about this important part of the world.”
Oaks is the son of Bob and Judy Oaks of Macedon.
