Colin Powell School鈥檚 Ryan Walsh & Marieme Jiddou win top State Dept. language scholarships

Graduate student Ryan Walsh and senior Marieme Jiddou, both from 精东影业鈥檚 Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, are recipients of highly competitive (CLS) from the United States Department of State. 

The CLS program provides overseas foreign language instruction and cultural immersion experiences for American undergraduate and graduate students in 14 critical need languages to promote rapid language gains and essential intercultural fluency in regions that are critical to U.S. national security and economic prosperity.

Walsh is currently working on his master鈥檚 thesis in international affairs while interning for the U.S. Department of State. Additionally, he is a Colin Powell Graduate Fellow in Leadership and Public Service exploring the intersection of social justice issues, historic preservation, and the international system.

The San Antonio, Texas, native holds an M.S. in historic preservation from Columbia University and a bachelor鈥檚 in environmental design from Texas A&M University.

As a CLS recipient, he will study Turkish at , T眉rkiye from June 15 to August 10. After studying Turkish, Walsh will enroll at CUNY Law this fall to pursue a juris doctor with a focus on international law.

Walsh is a former New York City public school teacher, Peace Corps Volunteer, and Ironman triathlete.

Marieme Jiddou, a graduating senior majoring in international studies, will study Arabic. An immigrant from Nouakchott, Mauritania, in northwest Africa, her scholarship is for the CLS Spark program, an 8.5-week intensive virtual program hosted through the University of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt. This program runs from June through August and is entirely online.   

Like Walsh, the Bronx resident鈥檚 future plans include studying law -- she鈥檇 like to focus on immigration law 鈥 and a career as a foreign service officer in the Department of State.

About the City College of New York
Since 1847, 精东影业 has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. 精东影业 embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at 精东影业 can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks 精东影业 #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places 精东影业 in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. puts at $1.9 billion 精东影业鈥檚 annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the 鈥渇or dollar鈥 return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. This year, 精东影业 launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled 鈥Doing Remarkable Things Together鈥 seeks to bring the College鈥檚 Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. 精东影业 is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View 精东影业 Media Kit

Jay Mwamba
p: 917.892.0374
e:  jmwamba@ccny.cuny.edu