Bryn Mawr Students Selected as Boren Scholars

Four Bryn Mawr students will be participating in the Boren Scholarship Program and attending the flagship program in Kazakhstan.

Class of 2024 members Jac McCarty, Ashlyn Darling, Julia Mohr, and Lila Ackley will all be participating in the program. Anjali Bose '24 was also selected for a Boren Scholarship to study in India but will be participating in the Research Scholars Program at Boston Children's Hospital instead.

The Boren Scholarship Program is designed to increase U.S. knowledge of languages and countries deemed to have security interest for the U.S. Recipients must agree to a “service requirement” to work either in a federal agency with national security responsibilities or in an academic field related to the area of study for which the scholarship was given.

About this year's Boren Scholars

Lila Ackley

Ackley is double majoring in biology and Russian.

Hometown: Yarmouth, Maine

"I hope to use this scholarship to find intersections between my two fields of study, Russian and Biology. I'm particularly interested in investigating ecological problems in Kazakhstan, as the past century has seen the dramatic transformation of the country's landscape. Building competence in Russian will enable me to pursue research in Central Asia, working towards solving the global problems which necessitate global cooperation."

Ashlyn Darling

Darling is majoring in Russian and minoring in psychology.

Hometown: Dover, Del.

“I’m excited to use this scholarship to return to Kazakhstan and become more immersed in the culture and language. I plan to continue my studies in both Psychology and Russian following the program, so I hope to gain more real-world experience in interacting with different communities, learn from those communities, and learn how I can better contribute on a larger scale—in Kazakhstan, in the U.S., and elsewhere. Language learning has been a wonderful tool in helping me accomplish this, and I can’t wait to continue improving!”

Julia Mohr

Mohr is double majoring in Russian and international studies, with a minor in philosophy minor.

Hometown: Maywood, New Jersey.

"My decision to study abroad is a product of the fusion of two of my main interests—Russian and International Studies—and I believe the experience will prepare me well for a career which seeks to understand and contextualize U.S.-Russia relations."

Jac McCarty

McCarty is double majoring in Russian and computer science.

Hometown: Boulder, Colo.

"Although after three and a half years of Russian study, I am certainly a capable Russian speaker under everyday circumstances, my current undergraduate research into natural language models in Russian has revealed a gap in my fluency, particularly when it comes to translation. For this reason, I believe studying in Kazakhstan for a year is crucial for my career progression, as it will facilitate learning in an immersive Russian-speaking environment without the political complexities associated with studying in Russia."

Each year, Bryn Mawr students apply for a number of prestigious national scholarships, grants, and fellowships, often with great success. These fellowships may provide funding for the last years of undergraduate education, for graduate education both in the United States and abroad, or even for travel and independent research not tied to an academic institution. Learn more about the many fellowships and advising available to Bryn Mawr students in the Fellowships section of the website.

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