Four University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign students were awarded U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarships to study foreign languages this summer. Shireen Aydogan, Xavier Davenport, Karel Pene and Sylvia Techmanski received full scholarships to spend 8-10 weeks abroad studying one of 14 critical languages. The program is part of an initiative to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages and cultural skills to enable them to contribute to U.S. economic competitiveness and national security.