CofC Student Receives Critical Language Scholarship

Taylor Henry, a junior international studies major at the College of Charleston, has been named a finalist for the 2025 Critical Language Scholarship.

The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is a fully funded, eight-week immersive summer program for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students. It is designed to help students learn languages that are of strategic importance to the United States’ national security, economic prosperity and international engagement.

Henry is among 600 students who were selected for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs award. She will be studying Arabic in Amman, Jordan, and hopes to carry the skills she learns there into a job through the U.S. State Department or with foreign diplomacy.

Kirti Reddy, a sophomore political science and international studies double major, was selected as an alternate for the Urdu program.

“I’m thrilled that Taylor and Kirti have been selected as a CLS recipient and alternate, respectively. CLS is a competitive program, and only 15% of applicants will move forward to be considered for a finalist spot,” says Sidney Woram, associate director of the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards, which helps students find and apply for awards that support their studies, research projects, learning new languages and studying abroad. “Taylor and Kirti were both very thoughtful about what it would mean to them to represent America abroad, and I am pleased that CLS recognized the strength of their work.”

Since its inception in 2006, the CLS Program has supported nearly 10,000 participants in gaining critical language skills and intercultural competence, which are in demand in a globalized workforce and increase a student’s competitiveness across career fields.