Timothy McDaniel earns Boren grant to study in Middle East for a year

2014 May 1

Timothy McDaniel, of Lexington, KY, is one of two cadets at the University of North Georgia to be selected as a 2014 recipient of the David L. Boren Scholarship to study abroad during the 2014-15 academic year.

Only 165 scholarships were awarded nationally this year out of 868 applications. In exchange for funding, recipients commit to working in the federal government for a minimum of one year.

Dr. Victoria Hightower, assistant professor of Middle East history at UNG, said earning two Boren Awards is a reflection of the success of the university's Arabic division and the support of the College of Arts & Letters.

"These types of awards are evidence of the strong Arabic program that we are building here. The Boren Award is highly competitive and for UNG's Arabic department to have received two awards plus an alternate is phenomenal," Hightower said.

McDaniel, who studied in Oman in fall 2013 on a Project GO scholarship, will be returning to that country to study at the Center for International Learning. McDaniel said he knew from an early age that a job that kept him tied to a desk wasn't for him. His interest in languages and federal service drew him to UNG. McDaniel also is in the Honors Program at UNG and is a member of the UNG Patriot Choir.

"I want to work in the field of national security," McDaniel said. "My cousin is in the FBI, and I remember him telling me stories when I was younger about his experiences and all the cool stuff that was a part of his job. Ideally, my career goal is to work in the FBI."

McDaniel is majoring in Arabic and pursuing a minor in business.

NSEP is a major federal initiative through the U.S. Department of Defense designed to build a broader and more qualified pool of U.S. citizens with foreign language and international skills.