Arya Vishin

Arya Vishin (‘25, English/South Asian Studies) will spend his summer studying Hindi in Jaipur, India. He is a senior from San Jose, California, currently writing his honors thesis in South Asian Studies. Some of his research interests include theater and performance studies, poetry/poetics, and adaptation/appropriation. Last year, he studied Kashmiri in Gurgaon through the AIIS, and is excited to return to India for another summer of language learning. In the fall, he will utilize his training as he starts his PhD in Harvard’s department of Comparative Literature.

Giselle Carreño

Giselle Carreño (‘25, Business Administration/Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature) is a first-generation Latina college student raised in a low-income Hispanic community in Northern California. She developed a love for building community through language by translating at clinics, churches, and her school district. Through this experience, she gave Spanish-speaking individuals access to free healthcare and educational resources. At Berkeley, she developed an interest in Portuguese to reach all of Latin America and connect cultures through her work as VP of Professional Development at the Latinx Business Student Association. This summer […]

Khephra Owl

Khephra Owl (’25, Educational Sciences) will be traveling to Okayama, Japan to study Japanese. She grew up watching Ghibli movies such as Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, which led her to studying various aspects of Japanese culture, such as Zen Buddhism, Shintoism, and Japanese ghost stories. In 2023, she studied abroad in Kyoto, Japan through UCEAP and discovered several stark contrasts between US and Japanese cultures, which showed her the value of learning from each other in areas such as self-expression and honoring tradition. As a transfer student, Khephra […]

Abigail Klein

Abigail Klein (’26, Russian Language & Culture / Psychology) is headed to Daugavpils, Latvia to study Russian. She was raised in Southern California, where she grew up around Spanish-speaking communities and saw firsthand the power of language learning. This appreciation drives her study of Russian, alongside her love for Russian literature. Abigail is an editor of Troika, UC Berkeley’s undergraduate Slavic journal. In addition, she frequents Russian Conversation Hour, where she and other language learners practice their Russian over tea and Russian candies. As Vice President of UC Berkeley Best […]

Alexandra “Sasha” Bergseid

Alexandra “Sasha” Bergseid (’29, EECS) is from San Diego. She will be spending the summer in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, continuing her study of Russian. As a heritage speaker, Sasha hopes to use these language skills to pursue engineering abroad in the future.

Utkarsh Dubey

Utkarsh Dubey (‘27, Political Science/History) was born in Mumbai. He immigrated to America at a young age and now resides in Dallas, Texas. He will spend the summer in Lucknow, India furthering his knowledge of Urdu. Utkarsh plans to use the linguistic skills gained from CLS to help create spaces of transparency and cooperation between South Asian and United States governments, working at the intersection of law and foreign policy. Utkarsh hopes to use his Urdu language skills to support South Asian communities in the United States and overseas through […]

Tiffany Mar

Tiffany Mar (’25, Society and Environment, Data Science minor) is excited to be a part of the CLS 2025 cohort to explore Bahasa Indonesia. She is interested in exploring how community-driven solutions can solve pressing sustainability challenges. In the future, she would like to use her Indonesian skills to pursue a career in geospatial research where she can advocate for both people and the planet. In her free time, Tiffany enjoys making music, exploring martial arts, and picnicking with friends on the Glade.

Charlie Sevi Kim-Worthington

Charlie Kim-Worthington (’26, Greek & Latin / Urban Studies) will be studying Russian this summer with the Critical Language Scholarship Spark program. Having previously studied Modern Greek, Ancient Greek, and Latin, she is thrilled to expand her language skills through CLS. They have tutored unhoused children with School on Wheels in Los Angeles, have been a URAP research assistant in the Department of Ancient Greek and Roman Studies, and currently work at the Environmental Design Library. As a simultaneous degree student in CED and L&S, Charlie is passionate about urban […]

Fraser Byers

Fraser Byers (’25, Geography) was born in North Carolina and grew up in Western Canada. He is part of UC Berkeley’s dual degree program with Sciences Po in Paris, where he completed a degree in Politics and Government specializing in the Middle East. Fraser’s studies at Berkeley have been concerned with Earth Systems Science, particularly focusing on water. In addition, he is an undergraduate researcher at the Human Rights Center and a reporting intern for Circle of Blue. This Critical Language Scholarship will support studying Hindi in Jaipur, India in […]

Ava Ratcliff

Ava Ratcliff (’26, Greek & Latin/Comparative Literature) looks forward to deepening her understanding of Russian this summer in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Ava began studying Russian, alongside Ancient Greek and Latin, as a freshman at Berkeley. She plans to use the skills she develops this summer to read nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian literature in its original language. Ava is driven by a passion for reading and sharing literature with others and is currently the librarian for Bowles Hall Residential College. Before Berkeley, she served with AmeriCorps City Year as a fifth-grade teaching […]