CCNY's Ryan Walsh and Marieme Jiddou are headed to Türkiye and Morocco, respectively, this summer on Critical Language Scholarships from the U.S. State Dept.
Graduate student Ryan Walsh and senior Marieme Jiddou, both from The City College of New York’s Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, are recipients of highly competitive Critical Language Scholarships (CLS) from the United States Department of State.
The CLS program provides overseas foreign language instruction and cultural immersion experiences for American undergraduate and graduate students in 14 critical need languages to promote rapid language gains and essential intercultural fluency in regions that are critical to U.S. national security and economic prosperity.
Walsh is currently working on his master’s thesis in international affairs while interning for the U.S. Department of State. Additionally, he is a Colin Powell Graduate Fellow in Leadership and Public Service exploring the intersection of social justice issues, historic preservation, and the international system.
The San Antonio, Texas, native holds an M.S. in historic preservation from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in environmental design from Texas A&M University.
As a CLS recipient, he will study Turkish at Ankara University TÖMER in Ankara, Türkiye from June 15 to August 10. After studying Turkish, Walsh will enroll at CUNY Law this fall to pursue a juris doctor with a focus on international law.
Walsh is a former New York City public school teacher, Peace Corps Volunteer, and Ironman triathlete.
Marieme Jiddou, a graduating senior majoring in international studies, will study Arabic. An immigrant from Nouakchott, Mauritania, in northwest Africa, her scholarship is for the CLS Spark program, an 8.5-week intensive virtual program hosted through the University of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt. This program runs from June through August and is entirely online.
Like Walsh, the Bronx resident’s future plans include studying law -- she’d like to focus on immigration law – and a career as a foreign service officer in the Department of State.
About the City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi puts at $1.9 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. This year, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.