BU Scholar Earns Prestigious Foreign Language Scholarship

Bradley Noble, a junior at Boston University (BU) majoring in international relations and minoring in French, has been awarded the Boren Scholarship to study in Dakar, Senegal, this fall. He is the first Posse Scholar to win a Boren Scholarship.

The highly coveted award, an initiative of the National Security Education Program, provides unique funding opportunities for U.S. undergraduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions deemed critical to U.S. interests.

“The Boren Scholarship particularly piqued my interest because of its service requirement after college, a commitment to apply for employment in one of the four major federal government agencies,” says Bradley. “It may be a requirement, but it’s also an incredible career opportunity in my chosen field.”

Bradley’s time in Senegal will build on other recent experiences he’s pursued abroad. The summer following his freshmen year, he studied in Grenoble, France, living with a host family, fully immersed in French language and culture.

Bradley traveled to Israel this past winter with other BU students. The trip inspired him to apply for the Boren Scholarship.

“Hearing local people’s stories and seeing the work they were doing in their communities was inspiring,” says Bradley. “It made me realize that the world is very complex with many places in need of help.”

While in the Boren program, Bradley hopes to learn more about Senegalese and West African culture and aims to become fluent in French.

“I believe my experience as a Boren Scholar will be a competitive advantage as I prepare to enter the job market,” says Bradley.