Two Huskies Earn Critical Language Scholarship

This year we are delighted to announce Grayson Peel CSSH’23 and Helen Wang CSSH’26 that were among the 500 students selected as part of the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) 2023 cohort. Founded in 2006 by the US State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Critical Language Scholarship funds advanced, in-country immersive instruction for eight to ten weeks in fourteen languages critical to U.S. national security. The award serves both graduate and undergraduate students. CLS Awardees are expected to promote mutual understanding between peoples and serve as cultural ambassadors of the United States. Nearly 5,000 students from 245 colleges and universities across the country applied for the Critical Language Scholarship.

Grayson Peel CSSH’23, Cultural Anthropology
CLS Country: India

Motivated, curious, and self-directed, Grayson is passionate about activism for anthropology, music, and film. As a fourth-year cultural anthropology student with minors in Spanish and music recording, Grayson has built a reputation as a creative problem solver with an eye for detail. Most recently, they have served as an audio production assistant for a Northeastern professor’s podcast, “Anthropologist on the Street,” an interview-format podcast that explores the many applications of anthropology within and beyond academia. Grayson has also held a role as an undergraduate research assistant at the Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict. There they assisted in research toward better understanding and seeking solutions to inter-group conflict. Grayson intends to continue bringing compassion, understanding, and patience to their graduate studies in anthropology.

Helen Wang Bouve’26, International Affairs and Linguistics
CLS Country: South Korea

A freshman at Northeastern University, Helen is studying toward a bachelor’s degree in international affairs with a minor in Linguistics. Outside of class, she enjoys participating in martial arts and helping friends campaign on campus. She currently works as a work-study student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, where she helps organize and prepare for events. In her senior year of high school, she was a finalist for the government-sponsored National Security Language Initiative for Youth program and studied abroad in Gwangju, South Korea the following summer. She received a Critical Language Scholarship, and she will be returning to South Korea to continue her international studies.