Three recent WVU graduates (from left) — Christelle Temple, Ella Dietz and Wyatt Gaines — will spend their summers abroad studying languages with support from the U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarships. (WVU Photo/Brian Persinger)
Three recent West Virginia University graduates will spend an immersive summer abroad studying foreign languages as recipients of the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship.
Ella Dietz, Wyatt Gaines and Christelle Temple received scholarships to travel for eight weeks studying Russian, Japanese and Swahili, respectively.
This is the 15th consecutive year one or more WVU students have been awarded the competitive scholarship, which seeks to expand the number of Americans studying languages essential for the United States’ engagement with the world.
Ella Dietz
A love for travel and global learning led Dietz to major in international studies and pursue minors in political science and Russian studies in the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.
With a special interest in Russian language and culture, the Weirton native will travel to Kyrgyzstan in June and spend two months engaging with the Kyrgyz community and practicing the Russian language.
“I’ve never had an opportunity where I could focus only on learning Russian,” she said. “I’m really excited to see how much I can improve, especially being immersed in the environment.”
Last year, Dietz studied abroad in Tartu, Estonia, where she examined firsthand the dynamics between local communities and the legacy of Russian influence.
“I wanted something that would support my study of Russia and the former Soviet Union, including better understanding how the Estonian experience of oppression and Russification has informed their national foreign and defense policy,” she explained.
Dietz said she is eager to compare the perspective gained in Estonia with the one she’ll encounter in Kyrgyzstan, a country that maintains close ties with Russia.
“I’m excited to get the Central Asian perspective and connect it with the Northern and Eastern European contexts I’ve studied,” she said. “I want to see how Russia is perceived in different parts of the world.”
She said she hopes to pursue a career in international security or diplomacy using her regional expertise and language skills to contribute to U.S. foreign policy.
Wyatt Gaines
As a scholarship recipient, Gaines will have the opportunity to return to Japan — a country he was fortunate to visit twice as a WVU student.
As an international studies major with minors in conservation ecology and geographic information science, Gaines first traveled to Japan as part of the Model United Nations and then again for a 10-month exchange program at Kansai Gaidai University.
“Traveling to Japan never seemed attainable until I was actually there,” he said. “No one in my family ever traveled abroad and I feel like these experiences opened that world for me.”
Especially passionate about East Asian politics, the Morgantown native said he hopes to leverage his growing language skills in a foreign relations or international development career.
“I want to come out of this experience with a more advanced level of Japanese,” he said. “Having that language skill will help me be more competitive for jobs with the United Nations or specific non-governmental organizations that work in East Asia.”
A WVU Honors College member and graduate of the WVU Peace Corps Prep Program, Gaines also understands the importance of experiencing life in a different culture.
“Because immersion is so important for the Critical Language Scholarship, students get intimate experiences with community and culture they might not get otherwise,” he said. “America could only benefit from more young people going over and challenging themselves to live in a foreign environment.”
Christelle Temple
Growing up in a military family, there are two things Temple knows well — traveling and stepping outside her comfort zone.
“My dad always told me to get comfortable in the uncomfortable,” she said. “Change is inevitable and the more you learn, the more you can grow.”
Awarded a Boren Scholarship in 2023, Temple spent an academic year in Tanzania studying Swahili and fell in love with the people, culture and lifestyle.
After graduating from the WVU College of Creative Arts and Media with a degree in public relations and minors in leadership and creative writing, she will return to the country for another immersive experience.
“Globalization is a stepping stone to bring cultures and people together and I think studying Swahili is a step in that direction for me,” she said.
Also an Honors College member and a graduate of the Peace Corps Prep Program, Temple said she hopes to join the Peace Corps and then spend a year working for the federal government before becoming an American Ambassador to East Africa.
“Swahili was a language I didn’t know before learning about the Peace Corps,” she said. “After understanding the role of the Peace Corps in host countries and the use of friendship and connectivity to bring people together, it made me more drawn to explore and learn more cultures.”
The Critical Language Scholarship program includes intensive language instruction and cultural enrichment experiences. Recipients serve as ambassadors representing the diversity of the United States and build lasting relationships with people in their host countries. They are also encouraged to continue their language study beyond the scholarship and to apply their skills in their future careers.
University students interested in the Critical Language Scholarship can work with the ASPIRE Office to learn more and apply. Founded in 2006, the office assists students applying for nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships, as well as students applying for graduate or professional school.
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lw/5/22/25
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