National Scholarship Office

CLS Spotlight: Alex Cigularov

VCU medical student Alex Cigularov spent the summer abroad learning Portuguese in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, fully funded by the Critical Language Scholarship. Read on to learn about his experience with the application process and his time in Brazil!

What program/country did you choose and why?

I chose the CLS Portuguese Program in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil because after having studied Spanish throughout high school and college, I was eager to expand, and felt that learning Portuguese next was a natural progression. Also, I had never been to South America and Brazilian culture really appealed to me.

What made you want to apply for CLS in the first place?

I have always enjoyed traveling and language/culture exchange but had never experienced something fully immersive in a foreign country such as living with a host family and obeying an agreement to only speak the target language, so when I learned about CLS during an NSO presentation in one of my classes and found out it wasn’t too late to apply, I was immediately sold.

In what ways did your CLS program inform your future goals?

I am studying to become a physician and my goal is to promote global health, so any opportunity to connect with people from unique backgrounds, especially if I can learn their language and culture, directly informs how I interact with said people as patients. Additionally, I think just by living at a different pace with new customs for an extended period of time, it expands my worldview by bringing new meanings to life, health, happiness, faith, friends, and family.

What was your most memorable experience?

My most memorable experience was dancing samba with my professor and three classmates. There was always something musical involved in our lessons, whether we were reading the lyrics and singing along to classic Brazilian songs, or learning the steps to traditional dances. There was also an advantage to the small class size because the pace and topics became personalized to us over time.

What did a typical day look like?

A typical day was waking up early to work out and greet the sunrise at Copacabana Beach, before getting ready and hopping on a bike for my 30 minute, but scenic, commute to school. Class was roughly 9am-1pm with the same professor five days a week, including a 15-minute coffee break in the middle. Then, after having lunch at one of the dining options on campus, we would either have pre-planned cultural excursions and cohort meetings, or be set free to explore, sight-see, and practice our Portuguese in the wild. Weekends were usually free, besides a few field trips spaced out throughout the program.  

The Critical Language Scholarship is a highly competitive scholarship funded by the U.S. Department of State for the study of twelve languages deemed critical to the United States’ diplomatic and national security interests. Recipients spend the summer abroad intensively studying their target language.

VCU’s National Scholarship Office (NSO) assists students and recent alumni with applying for the Critical Language Scholarship and other esteemed awards. To learn more about external funding opportunities, schedule an appointment with a member of the NSO staff.

Categories Critical Language Scholarship
Tagged Critical Language Scholarship