Pomona Students Win Critical Language Scholarships

Zena Almeida-Warwin '28 and Sarah Owosina '29 lived abroad this summer as participants in the U.S. Department of State's Critical Language Scholarship Program. The highly competitive eight-week fellowship fully funds intensive language instruction and cultural immersion for American students.

The Pomona College students were among more than 500 undergraduate and graduate students to accept the award this year. Almeida-Warwin studied in Brazil while Owosina was based in South Korea.

Returning to Brazil moves research forward

Zena Almeida-Warwin, an anthropology and English double major, returned to Brazil for her second Critical Language Scholarship summer. Her first experience in Rio de Janeiro in 2025 inspired her to come back.

"My first experience revealed many of my academic interests, career prospects and goals for who I wanted to become as a scholar and young professional," she says.

This summer, she examined social mechanisms in Rio's elite spaces, which led her to less touristic areas. She visited the historic portside neighborhood of Gamboa, a soup kitchen in Rio's Zona Norte, and an urban terreiro to witness the Afro-Brazilian Yoruba tradition of Candomblé.

Concurrently conducting research for her Summer Undergraduate Research Project, Almeida-Warwin interviewed university students, community leaders, and scholars in Portuguese. She says the experience played a fundamental role in her decision to pursue a Ph.D. In cultural anthropology.

"My two summers with the scholarship have been two of the most condensed periods of growth in my lifetime," she adds.

From local language immersion to global impact

Sarah Owosina, an international relations major, spent her summer in Busan, South Korea. This marked her third extended study trip to the country, following previous experiences in high school and during a gap year.

I love connecting with other people, Owosina says. From that, I want to go into foreign service and more specifically public diplomacy so I can connect with people on a person-to-person basis.

Based at Pusan National University, Owosina and a cohort of other students mixed cultural activities with language classes. The group toured Haedong Yonggungsa Temple and Daereungwon. In her free time, she visited sites like Hwangnyeongsan Observatory and Ahopsan Forest using public transportation.

She described Busan as feeling slower than Seoul but still possessing a lively energy. Owosina returned intent on improving her fluency and found the advanced courses helped her grow more comfortable speaking with locals.

One of the most rewarding things when you're learning a language is being able to have more casual conversations with people, she says. CLS is such a great program because the skills you gain from this program expand beyond the language.

Both students emphasized the unique value of dedicating a summer to immersive cultural and language study without the constraints of academic credits or majors. The program, which targets students interested in globally focused careers, provided what Owosina called a major experience.