Three MSU students awarded Critical Language Scholarships

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State University has three students awarded Critical Language Scholarships.

The Critical Language Scholarship program, funded by the U.S. Department of State, is an immersive summer opportunity for American college and university students to learn languages essential to America’s engagement with the world.

Over 500 American undergraduate and graduate students have been selected for the CLS Program in 2024. These awardees represent all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico and attend 247 U.S. colleges and universities, of which 22 are community colleges and 56 are minority-serving institutions.

A student wearing gold hoop earrings with pearls on the end, a white and green pattered shirt, and a black blazer smiles in front of a blurred red brick building.

Heli Sheth

A student with long brown hair, a blue shirt, and a dark blazer softly smiles in front of a red brick archway.

Eleanor Pugh

A student with dark hair and gold-rimmed glasses smiles in front of greenery

Dominick Stoops

Heli Sheth is from Marietta, Georgia. She is a second-year Nutritional Sciences student in Lyman Briggs College with a minor in Korean in the College of Arts and Letters. Sheth is also a member of MSU’s Osteopathic Medical Scholars program. She will study Korean in South Korea this summer.

Eleanor Pugh is from Bethesda, Maryland. She is a first-year student with majors in International Relations in James Madison College, Anthropology in the College of Social Science, and Russian in the College of Arts and Letters. Pugh is a member of the Honors College and a University Distinguished Scholar. She will study Azerbaijani in Azerbaijan this summer.

Dominick Stoops is from Southfield, Michigan. He is a third-year student in Lyman Briggs College with a major in Environmental Science and Management with a minor in Portuguese in the College of Arts and Letters. He will study Portuguese in Brazil this summer.

The Distinguished Student Awards Office (formerly National/International Fellowships and Scholarships Office), administered by the Honors College, helps undergraduate and graduate students pursue major opportunities by providing information and direct support throughout the competitive application processes.