Summer Bordon, Cecilia Callozzo and Kaylen Pritchard have earned the 2025 Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) for intensive language study. Funded by the U.S. Department of State, this program provides American undergraduates and graduate students the opportunity to spend eight to ten weeks abroad studying languages that are essential to U.S. national security and economic prosperity.
Through this immersive summer program, participants develop cultural competence and valuable language skills that are essential for building international connections. These three students represent the University of South Carolina’s commitment to fostering globally minded scholars who can help tackle the world’s most pressing issues.
Second-year master’s student Summer Bordon is earning a degree in history, focusing on the role of magic during the 1857–58 rebellion in India. As a CLS scholar, she will study Urdu in Lucknow, India, this summer. In addition to CLS, she has also earned the American Institute of Indian Studies Junior Fellowship to continue her language study. After completing her master’s degree, Bordon plans to pursue a career in urban agriculture and community organizing.
Cecilia Callozzo is a senior Carolina scholar and South Carolina Honors College student majoring in languages, literatures and cultures (Russian) and global studies. As a 2023 Gilman Scholarship recipient, Callozzo studied abroad in Kyrgyzstan. She will return to Kyrgyzstan this summer as a CLS scholar to continue improving her Russian skills. After graduating this spring, Callozzo plans to attend graduate school to study Russian literature.
Honors College junior Kaylen Pritchard is majoring in English. In 2024, Pritchard earned the Fulbright U.K. Summer Institute Scholarship for summer study in Scotland. This summer, she will participate in the Critical Language Scholarship Spark program, an online language intensive, to learn Russian. She aspires to become a professor of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century English literature.
Three USC students were also designated as alternates and are awaiting final results from their programs. Alternates include sophomore McNair scholar and Honors student Eli Hatcher (Chinese), senior global studies major Ankita Santosh Menon (Japanese) and senior psychology major Aidan Reilly (Urdu).
National Fellowships & Scholar Programs provides support for Critical Language Scholarship applicants. Students interested in learning more should contact USC’s national fellowships team.