2008-09 Recipients Grace Ong and Christina Li
pictured with Dr. Carl Falsgraf and Flagship Academic Director Jennifer Liu

Congratulations to Christina Li and Grace Ong on being selected as the 2008-09 recipients of the Nickerson Presidential Scholarship for Flagship Study Abroad Research. These Flagship students were selected based on their ability to articulate a fully developed research question and research implementation designs for their Capstone Research in China. The scholarship provides $8,000 for each student to assist them with tuition and research related expenses. The scholarship was made possible through the generous contribution by Cascade Corp, Director and University of Oregon EALL ’79 alumni, Peter Nickerson. The purpose of this award is to encourage Flagship students to use their study abroad year to explore and engage the people, the culture, and the language(s) of China.

Christina and Grace are part of University of Oregon’s Chinese Flagship Program’s first cadre of advanced Mandarin language learners who after two years of intensive language study at  University of Oregon, will be spending two semesters at Nanjing University directly enrolled in courses related to their major. In addition, The Language Flagship office in China will arrange for volunteer and practicum work to allow the students practical hands-on experience working in Chinese work environments related to their interest.

Christina and Grace, along with the six other Flagship students from University of Oregon, will join The Language Flagship students from Brigham Young, Ohio State, and University of Mississippi. The Language Flagship leads the nation in designing, supporting, and implementing a new paradigm for advanced language education. Funded by the National Security Education Program (NSEP), The Language Flagship is a breakthrough in foreign language and culture instruction in the United States designed to help individuals achieve Superior level proficiency in critical languages. To find out more about the program, visit http://casls.uoregon.edu/uoflagship/.