The Boren Scholarship is part of the National Security Education Program.
Moorestown resident Zahabya Mama graduated magna cum laude from Bryn Mawr College with a double major in political science and russian studies. During her course work at Bryn Mawr, she spent the summer of 2015 in St. Petersburg, Russia continuing her Russian language study. During her senior year traveled for 15 days on the Trans-Siberian Railway, from Moscow through Siberia, Mongolia and ending the trip in Bejing, China.
Zahabya was recently notified that she has received a Borden Scholarship to spend nine months in Kazakhstan to continue studying Russian. The Boren Scholarship is part of the National Security Education Program, a U.S. government initiative that allows undergraduate students to study less commonly taught languages.
Zahabya’s interest in Russian stemmed from wanting to understand a country that was filled with stereotypes. While learning the language while living in Russia with a host family, she started to appreciate and come to love Russian culture and traditions.
“After going to Russia twice now, I’ve come to see how welcoming and open Russian people can be, which of course always surprises my friends back in the US,” Mama said.
She hopes that with her continued education in the Russian language, she can continue to understand the complicated dynamics between the U.S., Russia and other Eurasian nations.
