GLOA Sophomore Wins Boren Award to Study in Japan

GLOA Sophomore Wins Boren Award to Study in Japan Image

Global Affairs Student is Mason’s Sole Winner for 2015

Chanel Grice is a sophomore double majoring in economics and global affairs with a minor in Japanese studies. Thanks to a Boren Scholarship, she will spend a year in Japan, studying Japanese at Sophia University in Tokyo and pursuing an internship in Okinawa.

Chanel has a longtime interest in Japanese language and culture. Raised in a U.S. Army family, she went to high school in Okinawa. This experience left a huge impression on her and she kept up her interests during her time at Mason. In 2014, Chanel was one of eight Goodwill Ambassadors for the National Cherry Blossom Festival, an opportunity that helped her recognize that she wanted to become a part of the U.S.-Japan bilateral alliance.

The Boren Scholarship will make it possible for Chanel to return to Japan to strengthen her commitment to her studies. Boren Scholarships, an initiative of the National Security Education Program, provide unique funding opportunities for undergraduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad. These regions include Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Boren Scholars represent a vital pool of highly motivated individuals who wish to work in the federal national security arena. In exchange for funding, Boren Scholars commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation. Chanel is the only Mason applicant to receive this prestigious award this year.