Junior Charlotte Holt receives language scholarship from U.S. State Department

JUNE 1, 2012
by Tina Underwood, Contributing Writer

Charlotte Holt

GREENVILLE, S.C.—Furman University junior Charlotte Holt of Summerville has been awarded a Critical Language Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State to undergo intensive study of Mandarin.

Holt is among 630 U.S. undergraduate and graduate students who received a scholarship from the U.S. Department of State CLS Program in 2012. The CLS Program is part of a U.S. government effort to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages.

Holt will spend eight weeks in Xi’an, China this summer taking Mandarin classes at Shaanxi University. Following the program, Holt will spend the fall semester in Suzhou, China with Furman’s “Fall for China” program at Suzhou University.

In addition to Mandarin, CLS Program scholars study Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla/Bengali, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Indonesian, Japanese, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish, or Urdu languages. U.S. students will spend seven to ten weeks in intensive language institutes this summer in 13 countries where these languages are spoken. The program provides fully-funded, group-based language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences.

Holt is an Asian Studies and Political Science major. She is also working toward an interdisciplinary minor in Poverty Studies. At Furman, Holt is part of the Shucker Leadership Institute and Riley Institute Advance Team. She has participated in Furman University Model UN, serves as a Freshman Resident Assistant, and is a member of the Asia club. She is a Furman Hollingsworth Scholar, was named a Jenny Horne House of Representatives Scholar, and received a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship. A 2010 graduate of Pinewood Preparatory School, she is the daughter of Colonel Blaine and Mey Holt of Summerville.

For more information, contact Furman’s News and Media Relations office at 864-294-3107.