Seven undergraduates were selected as Boren Scholars this spring
For the second year in a row, the University of Georgia ranks second in the nation as a top-performing institution for Boren Scholarships. UGA also ranks second for total number of Boren Awards in 2025, which is calculated by combining an institution’s Boren Scholarships and Fellowships.
Seven undergraduates were selected as Boren Scholars this spring. These students will receive funding to study critical languages in Kazakhstan, Senegal and Brazil in exchange for a year of federal service.
This year also marks the fifth year in a row that UGA has been named a top-performing institution for Boren Scholarships. UGA has had 112 Boren Scholarship and Fellowship offers to date.
Boren’s national nominating panel selected 66 Boren Fellows and 132 Boren Scholars in 2025. The award is designed to add important international and language components to students’ educations by giving them the opportunity to study overseas in world regions critical to U.S. interests. Boren Award recipients commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation in exchange for up to $25,000 in funding. The national initiative is administered by the Institute of International Education on behalf of the National Security Education Program.
“This year’s award recipients continue to highlight the University of Georgia’s outstanding language flagship programs,” said Elizabeth Hughes, Boren Awards campus representative and a student affairs professional in the Morehead Honors College. “Six of the seven recipients are enrolled in the Russian or Portuguese flagship programs, and all of the recipients benefited from the guidance they received from faculty and staff who invested so much in our students’ success.”
The language flagship provides undergraduates with the opportunity to pursue professional-level language proficiency in one of seven critical languages. Programs are led by nationally recognized leaders and innovators in language education.
The following five recipients were awarded a Boren Scholarship to support their participation in a capstone-year program to study Russian and complete an internship in Kazakhstan as part of the Russian Flagship program.
Sara Adkins of Gainesville is a fourth-year student majoring in Russian, German and Spanish.
Mercedes Bengs of Hot Springs, South Dakota, is a fourth-year student and Air Force ROTC cadet majoring in international affairs and Russian with a minor in German.
Nicholas Heiniger of Marietta is a fourth-year Honors student majoring in international affairs and Russian.
Jessica Sobieski of Roswell is a fourth-year student majoring in international affairs and Russian.
Jack Williford of Augusta is a fourth-year student majoring in international affairs and Russian with a minor in linguistics.
The following recipients were awarded Boren Scholarships to support their participation to study French in Senegal and Portuguese in Brazil.
Mark Adams of Peachtree City is a fourth-year Honors student majoring in French and international affairs with a minor in English and a global studies certificate. He was awarded a Boren Scholarship to study French in Senegal through Boren’s African Flagship Languages Initiative.
Madison Dixon of Marietta is a third-year Honors student majoring in finance and international business with a minor in Portuguese. Dixon was awarded a Boren Scholarship to support her participation in a capstone-year program to study Portuguese and complete an internship in Brazil as part of the Portuguese Flagship program.
This year’s recipients and their majors are housed within the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Public and International Affairs and the Morehead Honors College.
UGA’s Major Scholarships Office, housed in the Morehead Honors College, works closely with all students across campus as they apply for national, high-level scholarships. For more information on applying for a Boren Scholarship or Fellowship through UGA, contact Elizabeth Hughes at ejhsears@uga.edu. For more information on the Boren Awards, visit https://www.borenawards.org/.
