Deidre Irby ’16, an East Asian Studies major, received the prestigious聽, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State鈥檚 Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and awarded annually to only 聽nationwide to study abroad.聽Deidre will attend聽聽in Seoul,聽March through June 2016, where she will study the Korean language.
鈥淚 like translating. I like figuring stuff out and what it means. If I don鈥檛 understand, then I want to,鈥� says Deidre, who is a聽member of Oglethorpe’s Society of Japanese Language Students and helped to found the Anime Anonymous, an club at Oglethorpe. Her interest in East Asian culture and language developed while growing up in Fayetteville, N.C., a diverse military town.
After studying abroad, Deidre will focus on graduate school, where she likely will study Korean and linguistics. Deidre is especially interested in second language acquisition and historical linguistics—how language functions, is used, and develops over time. Eventually, she plans to teach and research language, particularly language development.
Deidre hopes that Oglethorpe can grow and solidify a dedicated Asian Studies program, and says she鈥檇 like to help make that happen. “Maybe one day I鈥檒l become a college professor,鈥� says Deidre, who has felt the impact and importance of a mentor. She credits聽Dr. Ron Bobroff, director of the Center for Global Education, as being 鈥渟uper supportive鈥� during the study abroad application process and 鈥渢he single most helpful person on this campus.鈥�
