Cate McLaughin ’23, an international studies and diplomacy, French, and Arabic triple major is one of two Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) awardees at URI this year.

Funded by the U.S. State Department, this highly competitive scholarship covers participation in an intensive language study program abroad. Unfortunately, the program has been cancelled due to travel concerns associated with COVID-19, but the URI Office of National Fellowships and Academic Opportunities would like to recognize this year’s award finalists, and celebrate them.

Cate was awarded the Critical Languages Scholarship to fund her participation in an intensive Arabic program in Meknes, Morocco. The program in Meknes is hosted by the Arab American Language Institute, and consists of an eight week course. Students take part in twenty hours of classes per week, studying both Modern Standard Arabic and the local Maghrebi Arabic dialect, known as Darija. Outside of class, students venture out on regular excursions, enjoy a variety of cultural enrichment activities, take part in regular conversation sessions with local speakers, and will live with host families from the local community.

While Cate is unsure exactly where she will end up in the future, she loves languages, and has been enamored by Arabic. For her, the CLS would be an unparalleled opportunity to bring her language skills to the next level, and to prepare to apply for a David L. Boren Scholarship. Similar to the CLS, the Boren Scholarship fosters the study of less commonly taught languages for students aspiring to public service over the course of a six to twelve-month long program. With her language and intercultural skills in tow, Cate aspires to a role in which she can help newly arrived immigrants transition into a new culture here in the United States — a role well suited to her talents. Cate is already thinking big and has even bigger goals ahead.