Engineering student receives Boren Scholarship to study in Tanzania

DALLAS (SMU) — Sophomore Lade Obamehinti has been awarded a Boren Scholarship to study in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, during summer 2012. She will be taking an intensive Swahili language and culture course at the University of Dar Es Salaam while doing a mechanical engineering internship, also at the university.

“I look forward to growing my knowledge of eastern and central Africa and gaining language skills,” says Obamehinti, who is majoring in mechanical engineering in the Lyle School of Engineering and mathematics in Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, with a minor in art in Meadows School of the Arts. “You can learn a lot in the classroom, but this is an opportunity to interact with the people and immerse in the culture.”

David L. Boren Scholarships, sponsored by the federal National Security Education Program, provide U.S. undergraduate and graduate students with resources to acquire language skills and experience in countries critical to the nation’s security and stability. In exchange for their awards, Boren recipients agree to work in the federal government for a period of at least one year.

Obamehinti, of Keller, Texas, is pursuing a Master’s degree in systems engineering at SMU and plans to pursue a law degree, with an emphasis on international law. She hopes to use her engineering background and language skills to work as a development liaison to countries around the world, especially countries that face serious internal challenges such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya.

“I want to help countries build and improve their infrastructures, such as their roads, bridges, schools and hospitals,” she says. “Strong infrastructures help create strong governments and more secure, healthier populations.”

This year, a record 1,014 undergraduate students applied for the Boren Scholarship and 161 were awarded; 575 graduate students applied for the Boren Fellowship and 119 were awarded. Obamehinti is SMU’s second recipient of a Boren award since 2009.

Learn more at www.borenawards.org.

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