Capitol News

Three students from Michigan State University have been selected to receive Critical Language Scholarships. The program, funded by the U.S. Department of State, offers an immersive summer experience for American college and university students to study languages crucial to U.S. international engagement.

In 2024, over 500 American undergraduate and graduate students were chosen for the CLS Program. These recipients come from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, representing 247 colleges and universities across the United States. This includes 22 community colleges and 56 minority-serving institutions.

Heli Sheth is one of the awardees. She is a second-year Nutritional Sciences student at Lyman Briggs College with a minor in Korean in the College of Arts and Letters. Originally from Marietta, Georgia, Sheth is also part of MSU’s Osteopathic Medical Scholars program. She will spend her summer studying Korean in South Korea.

Another recipient is Eleanor Pugh from Bethesda, Maryland. Pugh is a first-year student majoring in International Relations at James Madison College, Anthropology in the College of Social Science, and Russian in the College of Arts and Letters. A member of the Honors College and a University Distinguished Scholar, she will study Azerbaijani in Azerbaijan this summer.

Dominick Stoops from Southfield, Michigan is also among those awarded. He is a third-year student at Lyman Briggs College majoring in Environmental Science and Management with a minor in Portuguese in the College of Arts and Letters. Stoops will be studying Portuguese in Brazil this summer.

The Distinguished Student Awards Office at MSU supports students through major opportunities by providing information and direct assistance during competitive application processes.