Breaking barriers: BGSU senior awarded prestigious national language scholarship

Computer science major Emma Crusey is studying Chinese in Taiwan as a Critical Language Scholar

By Cherie Spino

Emma Crusey was in kindergarten the last time a Bowling Green State University student won a prestigious Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) from the U.S. Department of State. In June, the senior from Richwood, Ohio, traveled to New Taipei, Taiwan, to continue her Chinese language studies as a CLS scholar.

Crusey, a computer science major with minors in Chinese and Spanish, is one of about 500 undergraduate and graduate scholarship winners from a pool of 5,000 applicants across the U.S. She is one of just three students from BGSU ever to win the highly competitive scholarship, the first since 2008 and the first to study Chinese.

Crusey is a highly disciplined student, said Dr. Min Yang, an associate professor of Chinese at BGSU.

“She’s curious and open to exploring new cultures and languages,” Yang said. “She’s a wonderful student in every way.”

Crusey said she is so grateful for the support of BGSU’s language faculty, especially Yang.

“All my professors know me, and that’s been really valuable for me. They take personal stock in your success,” Crusey said. “I think the person who was most excited about me getting this scholarship – besides me – was Min Yang.”

CLS scholars spend eight to 10 weeks learning one of 13 languages at an intensive study abroad institute. The program is designed to increase the number of Americans who are fluent in languages critical to U.S. national security, economic prosperity and engagement with the world. It is sponsored by the State Department and funded by the U.S. federal government.

Scholars are chosen based on their commitment to studying language and their plans to apply their language skills in their future careers.

Yang said this honor is important for Crusey, but also for the University and the Chinese language program.

“This is a national and very competitive scholarship. I hope it encourages more students to learn this language and explore something new,” Yang said. “It can open up future career opportunities for students since Chinese is spoken by more people in the world than any other language.”

Crusey has never been out of the country, and Yang helped answer all her questions about what it’s like to live abroad.

“That support was really helpful to me so that I’m not so nervous,” Crusey said. “I’m most excited about living in a city. My hometown has two stoplights and three restaurants. I would also really like to be able to consume Mandarin media by the end.”

Learning to speak Mandarin

In fifth grade, Crusey became fast friends with Amy Wang, whose parents immigrated to America and opened a Chinese restaurant in Richwood.

Crusey spent a lot of time at the Wang home and shared many meals with the family. But since Amy’s parents didn’t speak English, Amy would play translator when Crusey wanted to communicate with the Wangs.

That didn’t sit well with Crusey, so she started learning Mandarin on her own – and getting immediate feedback from the Wangs as she practiced.

“It was really fun to learn,” Crusey said, “and I think it motivated me to keep learning because I had a lot of people to practice with.”

Expanding her knowledge

At BGSU, Crusey has taken three semesters of Chinese. At the end of her sophomore year, an advisor told her about the Spark program, an eight-week, immersive online Chinese course also sponsored by the State Department. Crusey applied and won a scholarship to the program, studying virtually through China’s Dalian University of Technology.

Participants in the Spark program are automatically semi-finalists for the CLS program, giving Crusey a real advantage when she applied for one of the 500 CLS scholarships.

Crusey said languages come to her more easily than computer science and math.

“I think the reason I’m good at them is because I’m curious and I’m not scared to mess up,” Crusey said. “If you’re afraid to mess up and never want to talk to anybody, you’ll never learn it.”

Crusey’s curiosity is what led her to pursue a degree in computer science with a specialization in digital forensics (cybersecurity). She started at BGSU as a social work major but wanted to try something completely different.

“I thought, if I’m going to spend four years somewhere, I want to have a brand new skill,” Crusey said. “I had never done any coding, but the computer science department is really understanding of people who haven’t done it before.”

Her language classes in Chinese and Spanish are a fun way for her to break up her science and math coursework, she said.

Crusey said the computer science department encourages students to be well-rounded. In fact, when she won the CLS scholarship, Dr. Jake Lee, chair of the computer science department, sent her a congratulatory email praising her versatility.

Speaking Spanish and Chinese has opened future career opportunities, and more importantly, she said, has allowed her to more easily forge relationships.

“Even if you’re not fluent, people appreciate it so much when you try to make an effort and connect with them through their language,” she said.

Many of her co-workers in the restaurant where she works speak Spanish. “I get everything I want first because I can ask in Spanish,” she said with a laugh.

And even better, conversations with the Wangs are becoming more manageable. Recently, Amy Wang called Crusey and held out the phone so Emma could say something in Chinese to her mother.

“Oh my gosh, I can understand!” Wang’s mom said.

Goal achieved.