Drew Scott, '12, from Tremont, Ill., has been awarded the U.S. Department of State's Critical Language Scholarship for intensive summer language study in China.

The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) is part of a U.S. government effort to expand the number of American college students studying and mastering critical need foreign languages. Students of diverse disciplines and majors are selected for the program, which is administered by the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, with awards approved by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Thousands of students apply for a chance to take part in one of 13 foreign language programs. Recipients are selected on the basis of merit, with consideration for academic record, potential to succeed in a rigorous academic setting, ability to adapt to life in a foreign culture, and their plan to continue study of the language and use it in their future career.

Drew is pursuing a degree in music education and a minor in Chinese. He has completed three years of Chinese language study at Carthage College and in China at Beijing Language & Culture University. His scholarship award begins with a two-day orientation in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Department of State, where he will be joined by the 26 other U.S. college students with whom he will study this summer at Shanghai University of Finance & Economics in Shanghai, China. The students will take part in eight weeks of intensive Chinese language study, where they will also participate in cultural trips and excursions under the direction of The Alliance for Global Education.

After graduation, Drew hopes to teach both music and Chinese language.