Claire Kim '13

I participated in the State Department's Critical Language Scholarship for the summer of 2012 in Vladimir, Russia. Overall, I really enjoyed Vladimir; the people were very hospitable and friendly. The program was definitely challenging; the institute often gave us 4+ hours of homework every day, and made us take a pledge not to speak English while in the program. However, I learned an astounding amount of Russian, and I could see my Russian vocabulary and grammar grow week by week. Moreover, I made some amazing friendships--I was even invited to someone's dacha over the weekend! I would not trade my CLS experience for any other summer, and I highly recommend interested students to apply.
After graduation, I interned for the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University in Seoul, South Korea. I also interned for the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in DC. In the fall of 2014, I matriculated at Yale Law School, where I am studying public international law and human rights law.