May 8, 2015
Gennevi Fam Lu named 2015 Boren Scholar
University of Washington sophomore Gennevi Fam Lu is one of only 171 students nationwide to be selected as a 2015 Boren Scholar.
The Boren Scholarship, an initiative of the National Security Education Program, is a major national scholarship that provides U.S. undergraduates up to $20,000 to support their study of less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests including Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. In exchange for funding, Boren award recipients agree to work with the federal government for a period of at least one year.
Lu will spend a year in Brazil in 2016 studying Portuguese and taking other classes at Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Sao Paolo. Currently pursuing a community, environment & planning major with a focus in international relations and minor in Latin American studies, Lu hopes to work someday as a regional affairs officer for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs in the Office of Brazilian and Southern Cone.
A first-generation Seattle native, Lu was raised in a Chinese-Vietnamese immigrant household. During her sophomore year at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle, she was selected as a Summer Search Scholar, a seven-year skill development and college readiness program targeting disadvantaged youth. Through the program, she was encouraged to persevere through economic and social obstacles and to dream big about a career in the Foreign Service.
Since entering the University of Washington, her passion for promoting quality education and alleviating poverty has grown through experiences like mentoring high school students at the Dream Project, interning with the Seattle Neighborhood Planning Committee, and engaging in the highly-competitive Foster Business School Lavin Entrepreneur Program.
She has already travelled extensively in South America, having volunteered in Paraguay twice, once in Argentina, and interned with Pencils of Promise in Guatemala. In Brazil, she will continue her studies and conduct research for her senior thesis on solutions to combat drug trafficking.
University of Washington students like Gennevi Fam Lu are supported by the Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards (OMSFA). OMSFA works with faculty, staff and student groups to identify and help promising students develop the skills and personal insights necessary to become strong candidates for local and national scholarships that help them expand their academic experience and follow their passions.