UC students awarded critical language scholarships

Kylie Boyer, a graduate student in the master’s program in women’s, gender and sexuality studies at UC, is going to expand her language skills in Korean. Inspired by her Korean grandmother, Boyer originally thought about applying to the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program. The CLS ultimately worked better with her timeline and goals.

“Being able to go to Korea in person will be awesome—my grandmother is super excited,” says Boyer. “I’m excited to be able to learn Korean and talk to her in that language. She speaks English, but there are always things in a second language that you can’t really express as you can in your first language.”

In addition to her studies, Boyer works as a graduate assistant in a dual appointment for the nationally competitive awards office and STARTALK, UC’s new grant-funded Russian program. In those roles, she provided outreach for both programs, encouraging students to think with a global outlook and look for international opportunities.

“I think there is a really common misunderstanding that [study abroad] is expensive,” she notes. “I’ve been able to finagle that system a little bit. And it’s great for the college experience, because there’s only so much diversity you can get in Cincinnati, Ohio.”

Boyer is set to graduate in spring 2022 and spend the summer in Korea.

Lily Stiefel is an undergraduate student majoring in Asian studies and minoring in English and marketing through the College of Arts & Sciences and the Lindner College of Business. While her experience in the CLS program will be virtual, she notes that international experiences like these still make a world of difference.

“It’s obvious that the entire world is getting more global,” says Stiefel. “We’re so interconnected, even on UC’s campus, and you can’t go your whole life just knowing the United States of America. Everything you do or say has a little bit of influence on countries around the world, so it’s your duty as a good citizen to be educated about what’s going on beyond these borders.”

Stiefel is currently crossing her fingers to go abroad to Japan in the fall—her previous attempts to study abroad were unfortunately thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, studying abroad and winning the CLS scholarship were more than she could have ever imagined growing up in a remote area of Ohio.

"[The application process] is an amazing experience and even if you feel like you’re not going to get it, you should just apply. You just have to give it your all and collaborate with the people around you,” Stiefel explained. “As a first-generation student from a really tiny country rural town, I did not expect this to happen. Your background doesn’t matter; you can still accomplish your goals and get things that you never thought were going to happen.” 

Post-graduation, Stiefel envisions a career in translation and localization management, a field adapting content to the language and culture of a specific world region.