FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Erin Whelchel
703.894.2900 ext. 124
ACTFL and its Lead with Languages campaign are pleased to announce the selection of ten 2021 awardees of the Lead with Languages Teacher Scholarship Program which provides merit-based funding to graduating high school seniors committed to pursuing the language teaching profession in languages other than English. Each of these incoming undergraduate students will receive an annual award of $1,500 per academic year, renewable to a cumulative total of $6,000 per recipient, as well as one-year complimentary ACTFL membership including access to the ACTFL Mentorship Program aimed at early-career language teachers upon graduation and entry into the field.
Hailing from eight states and listing seven languages among those they aspire to teach, the scholars were selected from a pool of applications which were carefully reviewed by a volunteer committee of dedicated language educators.
This represents the third class of scholars to enter the program, launched in 2019 as the inaugural initiative of the Lead with Languages Scholarship Fund.
When asked about their motivations to teach, one scholar explained: “I want to help others to pursue their dreams by imparting an understanding of different cultures and how languages can be a source of social change and individual strength.”
As the United States continues to face the challenge of a language educator shortage in nearly every state, ACTFL and the Lead with Languages campaign continue to prioritize efforts to recruit, retain, and support qualified and passionate teachers of all languages. For those wishing to support future awardees of this scholarship program, more information is available on the Lead with Languages site.
To learn more, follow Lead with Languages on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
About Lead with Languages: Created in 2017, Lead with Languages is a national, multi-year campaign powered by ACTFL, aimed at reversing the nation’s language skills gap and making language learning a national priority. The campaign seeks to build awareness across the U.S. about the growing importance of language skills to a wide array of careers—and to our nation’s economy, national security and international standing—with the ultimate goal of supporting a new generation of Americans competent in other languages and cultures and equipped to compete and succeed in a global economy.