The Asia Pacific Center, Center for European and Russian Studies, Center for Near Eastern Studies, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, and Latin American Institute held a virtual career roundtable to spotlight former FLAS recipients. Watch or listen to the online recording to learn more about FLAS funding and how previous recipients have leveraged their language training in their careers.
About the Panelists
Derek Groom is the Special Projects Manager at the Weiser Center for Europe & Eurasia (WCEE). In this role, he manages WCEE's outreach efforts, administers several key programs, and develops the center's communications strategy. He previously served as Academic Program Specialist for U-M's Center for Emerging Democracies (2018-2023). Before coming to U-M, Derek worked in Washington, DC at the American Councils for International Education, administering the Overseas Flagship Programs and Flagship Language Initiatives in Eurasia and Africa. In 2013, Derek completed the Russian Overseas Flagship Program in St. Petersburg, Russia as a Boren Scholar. He is also an alum of the Russian Domestic Flagship Program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he received a B.A. in Russian Language and Literature.
León García Garagarza, Ph.D. is a Research Specialist at the Getty Research Institute. He is a native of Mexico City and began his higher education at the National School of Anthropology and History and earned his BA in History/Art History at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). At the same university, he received his PhD in Colonial Latin American History. Specializing in the history of religions in Mesoamerica and the Nahuatl language, Dr. García Garagarza is the author of two essays on Nahuatl religion and society and currently works as a researcher at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, California.
Stephanie K. Kim, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of the Practice and Faculty Director of Higher Education Administration. Dr. Stephanie Kim brings fifteen years of experience as a scholar, educator, author, and practitioner in higher education. At Georgetown University, she is Associate Professor of the Practice and Faculty Director of the Master's in Higher Education Administration in the School of Continuing Studies. She is also an affiliated faculty member with the Asian Studies Program in the School of Foreign Service. A specialist in comparative and international higher education, Dr. Kim researches and writes about international students, higher education reform, and higher education policy in the United States and countries in Asia. Her work appears in a number of journals, edited volumes, policy venues, and media outlets and has received extensive press coverage. Her first book, Constructing Student Mobility: How Universities Recruit Students and Shape Pathways between Berkeley and Seoul, was published with the MIT Press in 2023 and received the Best Book Award from the Association for the Study of Higher Education Council on International Higher Education. Prior to arriving at Georgetown, she held academic and administrative positions at UC Berkeley and received her Ph.D. in Education from UCLA. She has also held fellowships with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), East-West Center, and Fulbright Program.
About the Moderator
Bryan Pitts is a historian of 20th century Brazil. He received an M.A. from Vanderbilt University (2006) and a Ph.D. in Latin American History from Duke University (2013). His book, Until the Storm Passes: Politicians, Democracy, and the Demise of Brazil’s Military Dictatorship (Oakland: University of California Press, 2023), explains the fall of Brazil’s 1964-1985 military regime in light of the changes it wrought on civilian political elites and their attitudes toward democracy. He has also published articles or book chapters on representations of race in Brazilian gay media, the sexual and romantic experiences of gay Brazilian men who travel abroad as tourists, US-Brazil relations, and the use of audio recordings as historical sources, and his research has appeared in The Hispanic American Historical Review, Revista Brasileira de História, Sexualities, Latin American Research Review, Latin American Perspectives, and several edited volumes. He has written on contemporary Brazilian politics for media outlets such as O Estado de S. Paulo, El País, Jacobin, NACLA, and Brasil Wire and he is a regular contributor on US politics for Brazilian media networks such as Brasil247 and ICL Notícias. Pitts' responsibilities as Assistant Director include grant writing, administration, and reporting; supporting the activities of LAI's affiliated centers, including the Center for Brazilian Studies; coordinating LAI's partnership with the Southern California Association of Latin American Studies at California State University Los Angeles; facilitating collaborations with universities and other institutions in Latin America and beyond; and overseeing LAI's budget. He is also involved with Latin American Studies on a national level, serving as Treasurer of the the Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs.
About Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships
The US Department of Education Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship program supports undergraduate and graduate training in modern foreign languages and related area studies during the summer and academic year. Academic-year and summer fellowships are available to support undergraduate and graduate students to study in modern foreign languages and area studies. The academic-year FLAS graduate student award provides a $20,000 stipend as well as $18,000 in tuition and fees while the academic-year FLAS undergraduate student award provides a stipend of $5,000 and up to $10,000 in fees and tuition. Summer FLAS awards for both undergraduate and graduate students provide a $2,500 stipend and up to $5,000 in fees and tuition. FLAS fellowships are awarded through the following UCLA International Institute centers. For detailed information and application requirements, click here