National Scholarship Recipients 2024-2025
Sara Ahlich Critical Language Scholarship
Sara Ahlich (’24, Conservation and Resource Studies) was born and raised in the Bay Area, where she attended Diablo Valley College before transferring to UC Berkeley. Her studies have been focused on natural history and ecosystem management, and she hopes to use her Portuguese and Russian abilities to work in international conservation efforts. In addition to a SPUR position at Berkeley, she works for the East Bay Regional Park District and interns for the EPA. She has previously studied Russian with CLS during the inaugural year of CLS Spark and […]
Read More about Sara AhlichLuisa Dell Gates Cambridge Scholarship
Luisa Dell (’23, Chemical Engineering) is passionate about research in synthetic biology, mentorship, and outreach. She is originally from Monterey, CA, where she attended Monterey Peninsula College before transferring to UC Berkeley. At Cambridge, Luisa hopes to overcome contemporary uropathogenic Escherichia coli antibiotic resistance and other bacterial resistance towards UTIs through the discovery of novel alternatives to traditional beta-lactam antibiotics. After earning her PhD, she hopes to continue research projects that will advance global health as well as increase diversity in STEM education.
Read More about Luisa DellAmarpreet Kaur Rangel Fellowship
Amarpreet Kaur (’23, Social Welfare and Public Policy) is particularly interested in human rights and socioeconomic development. After working at the local, state, and federal levels of policy advocating for underserved communities, she ultimately found her passion for global public service and foreign policy. Amarpreet was a Critical Language Scholar, Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholar, and Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellow. She has worked for the Brennan Center for Justice and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), among other organizations. Her languages include English, Punjabi, […]
Read More about Amarpreet KaurPeihang "Marshall" Li Schwarzman Scholars Program
Peihang “Marshall” Li (’23, Political Economy) is currently pursuing his MPhil study in Economic and Social History at the University of Cambridge in England. He is researching the history of U.S. pharmaceutical market regulations. At Cal, Marshall was recognized four times with the California Alumni Leadership Award. He served as Vice President of the California Lightweight Rowing Team, Chair of the Datong Society of China Studies, and as Student Assistant to Berkeley Disabled Students’ Program. Marshall seeks a scholarly understanding of the interplay between market regulations, innovation, and health outcomes. […]
Read More about Peihang "Marshall" LiAva Ratcliff Critical Language Scholarship
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 […]
Read More about Ava RatcliffVishwaa Sofat Schwarzman Scholars Program
Vishwaa Sofat (’24, Political Science and Science, Technology & Society) has interned with the State Department’s Office of China Coordination, the White House (WHIAANHPI), the NYC Department of Education, and three times in Congress. At Cal, he taught a course on the U.S. Indo-Pacific alliance structure, edited for The Daily Californian’s Weekender section, worked for Fortune 500 companies through Voyager Consulting, and led the Model UN team to third in the nation. Additionally, he serves as an IIS/CPD Undergraduate Fellow in International Studies at the Berkley Risk and Security Lab […]
Read More about Vishwaa SofatDavid Villani Critical Language Scholarship
David Villani (‘24, History /Arabic) will continue his Arabic education this summer in Amman, Jordan. He began his Arabic studies in Morocco two years ago, and has since received the Foreign Language Area Scholarship to study in Oman, where he was a recipient of the 2023 Summer Arabic Language and Media (SALAM) scholarship. He is interested in the French presence in West Africa, with a particular focus on the personal relationships created through the practice of empire. For the past year, he’s been studying the ties between French communism and […]
Read More about David VillaniValerian Weinzweig Critical Language Scholarship
Valerian Weinzweig (’25, Conservation Resource Studies) is concentrating on Agroecology with a minor in Mathematics. She dreams of being able to collaborate with scientists and practitioners across a wide range of cultures, places, and languages in order to tackle tomorrow’s agricultural challenges as a team. Valerian has previously studied Spanish and Russian, and is now overjoyed to participate in the CLS Urdu program. In particular, he looks forward to understanding the literary traditions of the Urdu language, and finally being able to belt their favorite Atif Aslam songs.
Read More about Valerian Weinzweig