Graduate student receives Boren Fellowship for study in Oman

Jacqueline Allee, a graduate student from Los Angeles who is enrolled in Salve’s master’s degree program in international relations, has been awarded a $20,000 Boren Fellowship to study in Oman during the 2018-2019 academic year.

Allee, who will graduate in May, will study Arabic at the Noor Majan Arabic Institute in Muscat. She is Salve Regina’s second Boren recipient, following Daniel Regan ’17, who won the undergraduate Boren for a year of study in Jordan in the academic year 2015-2016.

“I was in Washington D.C. when I received the email of my acceptance, and had visited the Pentagon and State Department that morning, hoping to myself to someday be working there,” Allee said. “So the news could not have come at a better time. I was ecstatic to the point of tears because this is a dream come true and I know how prestigious and competitive it is to be selected. It’s an incredibly gratifying feeling to know that Boren believes in my ability to master Arabic and I feel a responsibility to rise to that level.”

In Oman, Allee will be immersed in intensive (five hours per day) classes to study Modern Standard Arabic, the style of language that the U.S. government requires in order to be hired as a Language/Region/Culture Expert on the Middle East (LREC), which is her goal.

“I am interested in using Arabic as a vehicle in fostering diplomacy, such as in the foreign service, or in countering violent extremism in a media capacity in the intelligence community,” Allee said. She’s also interested in applying her Arabic skills to aid the Department of Homeland Security in creating a more robust vetting process for refugees entering the U.S.

Also while in Oman, Allee will be conducting preliminary thesis research on the country as a beacon of tolerance in the region and exploring its immunity to terrorism through interreligious dialogue. “A deeper understanding of these aspects can only be accomplished by spending a year abroad immersed there,” she said.

Allee received her undergraduate degree in sociology with a minor in Spanish from the University of California, Davis. She has also applied to Salve’s graduate program in humanities.

The David L. Boren Scholarships and Fellowships are sponsored by the National Security Education Program, a major federal initiative designed to build a broader and more qualified pool of U.S. citizens with foreign language and international skills. The award is intended to fully fund the year of intensive language study abroad. In exchange for funding, Boren award recipients agree to work in the federal government for a period of at least one year.

“The National Security Education Program is helping change the U.S. higher education system and the way Americans approach the study of foreign languages and cultures,” said Michael A. Nugent, NSEP director.

Editor’s note: Students who are interested in applying for the Boren scholarship or fellowship may seek assistance through the Office of International Programs.