University of Central Arkansas student Adrienne Hargrove Thompson II has been named a Critical Language Scholarship recipient.
The Critical Language Scholarship program is a U.S. Department of State-sponsored program designed to give American college students cultural immersion experiences abroad and grow the number of U.S. students who study a foreign language. The program aims to increase fluency in languages that are significant in the global workforce.
Thompson, a senior art major from Pine Bluff, is the first UCA student to be awarded a Critical Language Scholarship. She is minoring in Chinese and Honors interdisciplinary studies.
Thompson has studied Chinese for four years. She began to study the language as a student at Conway High School and completed her minor in the language in fall 2018.
In 2017, she studied abroad at East China Normal University, a UCA exchange partner school, in Shanghai as part of the Language Immersion Program.
“That experience and the Chinese minor program thoroughly prepared me, so much so that it became the centerpiece of my [Critical Language Scholarship] application,” Thompson said. “Without those experiences, I don’t think I would’ve even applied.”
For the scholarship program, Thompson will travel to Dalian, China, this summer to spend two months studying at Dalian University of Technology. She will experience planned excursions that will immerse her in the Chinese language and culture. She must speak Chinese for the duration of the program, she said.
Thompson is currently vice chair of the Honors Council, an Honors College ambassador and a Department of Art Performance Scholar. She is also a member of the campus Sculpture Club and BFA Critique Club.
“It’s extremely exciting and an amazing opportunity to get to pursue language acquisition freely and funded by the State Department,” Thompson said. “I’m incredibly lucky to be able to be a part of such a rewarding experience that will ultimately help my career and personal goals. I’m also humbled that out of thousands in the nation, I was chosen.”
Thompson graduates from UCA this spring, and she plans to enter UCA’s Master of Arts in teaching program in 2020.
About the Critical Language Scholarship program
The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is an intensive overseas language and cultural immersion program for American students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities. Students spend eight to ten weeks abroad studying one of 15 critical languages. The program includes intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences designed to promote rapid language gains. CLS, a program of the U.S. Department of State, is part of a wider government initiative to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering foreign languages that are critical to national security and economic prosperity. CLS plays an important role in preparing students for the 21st century’s globalized workforce and increasing national competitiveness.
