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Tuesday, September 1, 2026
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Language Study With a Purpose
September 1, 2026
Two recent Lehman alumni have joined a distinguished group of students nationwide: recipients of Boren Awards for intensive foreign language study overseas. Their selections bring Lehman’s total number of Boren Scholars and Fellows to four.
Zarin Syed ’25, now enrolled in the M.S. program in Data Visualization at the CUNY Graduate Center, received a Boren Fellowship to pursue advanced Arabic in Morocco. She’ll make use of what she learns there in her research on the convergence of extreme right-wing ideologies, minority religious identity, and digital media.
Shahidul Islam ’26, a psychology major, received a Boren Scholarship to study Arabic in Morocco as well. Islam previously did a pre-med internship in Morocco through a Gilman Fellowship during his sophomore year and then found his calling in hospital chaplaincy. He plans to attend seminary to prepare for a career in the field.
The two are in exclusive company: Syed is one of 97 Boren Fellows selected from more than 230 applicants nationwide, while Islam is among 193 Boren Scholars chosen from nearly 600 undergraduate applicants.
Provided through the Defense Language and National Security Education Office, Boren Awards fund long-term language study. After completing their programs, recipients spend a year working in public service.