Three CLASS Students Receive Nationally Competitive Critical Language Scholarships


The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) is pleased to announce that three CLASS students are the recipients of the prestigious Critical Language Scholarship. Yusuf Bavi a political science and history major, with a minor in Arab studies, Saman Essa a sophomore in the Honors College studying psychology and Middle Eastern studies, with a minor in Medicine & Society and Andrew Neilson a graduate student in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages specializing in teaching Chinese as a second language.

Saman Essa

The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) is pleased to announce that Yusuf Bavi a CLASS political science and history major, with a minor in Arab studies (The Department of Modern and Classical Languages (MCL) is a recipient of the nationally Competitive Critical Language Scholarship. Yusuf gained experience as an intern through the Hobby School of Public Affairs’ Civic Houston Internship Program in the Mayor’s Office of Education Initiatives. He also worked as an intern in State Representative Gene Wu’s office. Through the Leland Fellows program, Yusuf hopes to learn how policy is shaped at the federal level. Specifically, he would like to be involved in legislation that would improve living conditions for refugees adjusting to life in the United States. Yusuf will graduate in December 2018. He plans to attend law school and continue studying public policy to advocate for his community. Yusuf is working in the office of Congressman Marc Veasey.


Saman Essa

Saman Essa is a CLASS sophomore in the Honors College studying psychology and Middle Eastern studies, with a minor in Medicine & Society. She has been involved in the UH Bonner Leaders Program, where she has worked on developing a program for teaching English to resettled refugees. She has also been a participant in the Model Arab League, traveling to Cairo last fall for the international conference. After graduation, Essa aspires to attend graduate school for psychology and to continue working with refugees. She hopes that by studying Arabic abroad, she will solidify her Arabic language skills and be able to communicate effectively with resettled Arabic-speaking refugees.  Read more


Andrew Neilson

Andrew Neilson is a CLASS graduate student in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages specializing in teaching Chinese as a second language. He hopes to teach Mandarin at the high school level, thereby inspiring students to learn about different languages and cultures in order to become effective world citizens and build cultural bridges. In addition to Chinese, Neilson enjoys studying the Middle East as well as the Arabic and Persian languages. While on CLS during the summer of 2018, he will be immersed in all of these cultures as he pursues his Chinese studies in the ancient Silk Road city of Xi’an. Read more.