We are pleased to introduce our 2023-2024 Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowship recipients! This year, the Carolina Asia Center awarded a total of 9 recipients including 5 graduate and professional students, 1 incoming graduate and professional student, and 3 undergraduate students for the study of Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi-Urdu.
The goals of the FLAS program are to assist in the development of knowledge and resources for modern foreign language and area/international studies, to stimulate the attainment of foreign language acquisition and fluency, and to develop a pool of international experts to meet national needs. The Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowships are generously funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
Applications for FLAS fellowships are usually available in the fall. For more information about FLAS, please visit carolinaasiacenter.unc.edu/scholarships/flas
2023-2024 FLAS RECIPIENTS
 Julia Arciola, from Boca Raton, Florida, graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a B.A. in Global Studies. As a first-year Master’s student in the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies program, Julia will focus on acquiring and maintaining a better understanding of global politics, economics, conflict resolution, and diplomacy pertaining to the issues that have arisen between the East and the West. As a FLAS recipient, she hopes to expand her Chinese language skills to further research the cultural analysis between English and Chinese literature. |
 Rania Adamczyk, from Knollwood, Illinois, is a second-year MA student in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. As a Bollywood scholar, analyzing dialogue is key to her research on Indian cinema and cultural politics. Through the FLAS fellowship, she will continue her study of Hindi-Urdu. |
 Dani Dalton, from Boston, Massachusetts, graduated from North Carolina State University with a B.A. in Women’s and Gender Studies and a minor in Philosophy. As a current Master’s student in the Curriculum of Global Studies, Dani will pursue research on the intersections of gender and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). As a FLAS recipient, she will be furthering her knowledge of Hindi-Urdu to expand her capacities for gender equity and leadership-focused work. |
 Matthew Garfi, a Massachusetts native, is a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is double majoring in Astrophysics and Mathematics, as well as minoring in Japanese. As a FLAS recipient, he will be studying Japanese over the summer at Kanda University in Chiba, Japan. Matt is learning Japanese in order to further his career in physics. Japan is one of the top nations in the world in physics research, and by knowing Japanese, Matt will be able to participate in international research in this career field. |
 Oliver Jones, from Raleigh, North Carolina, is a first-year MBA candidate at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School concentrating in Data Analytics and Operations. Since graduating with a BA in Media and Journalism from UNC Chapel Hill in 2017, Oliver spent five years working in the UK as a Media Consultant, an English Teacher in Thailand and Japan, and as a Program Manager at UNC Chapel Hill. As a FLAS fellow, Oliver will be studying Japanese at the advanced level. Oliver will be working with Walmart this summer as a Merchandising Operations manager, and after graduation, he intends to work with multinational teams to help promote understanding and economic cooperation between the US and Japan. |
 Erika Knorr is a first-year masters student in the Department of Health Sciences, studying Speech-Langauge Pathology. As a FLAS recipient, she will study Japanese and hopes to gain fluency to provide bilingual speech therapy and translation services to Japanese-speaking families living in the United States. |
 Lilian Manning, from Dayton, Ohio, is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She has a double major in Studio Art and Asian Studies with a concentration in Chinese. As a FLAS recipient, Lilian will study Mandarin and hopes to increase her knowledge of the Chinese-speaking world’s art scene to help facilitate cultural diplomacy. |
 Megan McClory, from Grayslake, Illinois, is a third-year graduate student in the History Department. Her research focus is premodern Japanese military and social history. As a FLAS recipient, she hopes to advance her Japanese skills so that she can efficiently conduct research and proficiently navigate the world of Japanese academia. |
 Edda Yamada, from Asheville, North Carolina, is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She has a major in Interdisciplinary Asian Studies and a minor in Studio Art. As a FLAS recipient, she will be advancing her knowledge of Japanese language and culture next year at Sophia University in Tokyo. Edda hopes to use this opportunity to research and document Japanese indigenous fermented foodways and discover how this knowledge can help transform the American food system. Edda is also interested in how this language and cultural study will support her entrepreneurial career goals of cross-cultural creative business collaboration. |