Student earns Boren Fellowship to study in Brazil for 11 months

Timothy Thompson, a student who is working toward a master’s degree in Library Science and American Caribbean Studies, received the Boren Fellowship to study in Brazil for 11 months until November.

He received one of more than 35 nationally competitive awards to study for up to a year this academic year. Some of the students received two awards, said Paul Fogleman, on behalf of the Office of the Vice President for International Affairs.

“The amount of awards received was standard through recent years in my experience doing this,” he said. “We generally have a pretty steady showing in these national competitions.”

All of the awards had some sort of monetary component. The money usually covers travel expenses, tuition and insurance and provides a monthly stipend, Fogleman said.

Thompson said he recognizes the amount of responsibility that comes with being an award recipient.

“I was obviously excited because of the great opportunity, but when I found out that I had received it, it also hit me that I had a lot of preparation to do and a lot of paperwork,” he said. “I am accountable for having this award now, and I have to really follow through with the proposal I had submitted for language study and research. It was exciting but also a feeling of responsibility.”