Student awarded study fellowship

LITTLE ROCK — Leslie Parker of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service has been awarded a National Security Education Program David L. Boren Fellowship to study in Brazil starting in February 2021.

David L. Boren Scholarships and Fellowships are sponsored by the National Security Education Program, a federal initiative designed to build a broader and more qualified pool of U.S. citizens with foreign language and international skills. Boren Awards provide U.S. undergraduate and graduate students with resources to acquire language skills and experience in foreign countries. In exchange for funding, Boren award recipients agree to work in the federal government for at least one year.

Parker, 23, who is from the Howard County town of Dierks in south Arkansas, will study Portuguese at Caminhos Language Centre in Rio de Janeiro and volunteer at Mais Caminhos, a nonprofit organization that provides educational opportunities and financial assistance to local students.

Before enrolling at the Clinton School, where he just completed his first academic year, Parker was an international management intern with Cooper Standard, a global automotive supplier in Brazil. He has a degree in business administration and aspires to serve as a foreign service officer for the Department of State.

Parker is one of 119 Boren Fellows nationally, and the fourth in Clinton School history.