Scholarship opens a career gateway

By Michael R. Malone [email protected] 04-29-2026

After careers in international service-his mother in the Peace Corps in Botswana and later conducting development work in Uganda, and his father working stints in Eastern Europe-Kieran Nardi-White's parents moved to "a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere" in rural Virginia to raise their children.

Nardi-White and his sister enjoyed the quiet, rural setting while growing up near Charlottesville, yet both, inspired by their parents' stories and encouragement to know other countries and cultures, developed a yearning for travel and adventure.

Nardi-White, who graduates this semester from the University of Miami with a major in criminology and minors in religious studies and political science from the College of Arts and Sciences, recently was awarded a unique opportunity to fulfill that wanderlust inspired in his childhood. The recipient of a Boren Scholarship-he's the first University student to earn the honor since 2018-Nardi-White will spend two months this summer in intensive language training in Gainesville, Florida, before traveling in August to Tanzania for the fall semester and additional studies there.

"I got that adventurous side from my parents. We had so much exposure through their stories, and we traveled a ton growing up-all through Europe and to Senegal, too. That piqued my interest in working and traveling abroad," said Nardi-White, who has spent the last two years focused on foreign affairs and political science courses, both at the University and during his junior year of study abroad in Denmark and Spain.

The U.S. government-funded scholarship provides up to $25,000 for undergraduate students to study languages and regions critical to national security (Africa, Asia, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East) and requires a commitment to work in federal service for at least one year postgraduation.

Nardi-White has held a long interest in working for the federal government, and an internship he did with the U.S. Department of Defense, solidified that career goal.

"For the career I'm planning in intelligence and national security, having language skills is obviously a huge benefit," he said.

Getting out of the comfort zone

Adventure and a thirst for something different is, in fact, what brought Nardi-White to the University.

"For college, I was deciding whether to study at the Virginia college nearby or go to UM. I realized that I definitely wanted a change-and Miami was that change," he said.

He spent his junior year abroad, first a semester in Copenhagen, where he enrolled as an exchange student through the University's partner program with the university in the Danish city. Then he transitioned to the University's study program in Seville, Spain.

A virtual internship in Uganda through the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service rekindled his dream of returning to Africa. While Nardi-White was remote, his supervisor was in Kampala, Uganda.

"We did a lot of open-source intelligence reporting on crime, political violence, terrorism, and all kinds of things in Uganda, and the experience really piqued my interest in East Africa and to go down this track," Nardi-White pointed out.

While attending a seminar on prestigious awards offered through the University, he learned about the Boren Scholarship and sensed that it aligned with his career goals and interests.

"I love getting out of my comfort zone and meeting new people and learning about new cultures," Nardi-White said. "And with this program, it couldn't have worked out more perfectly-it has the career component, the language component, new culture, and travel."

For his participation in the African Flagship Language Initiative, Nardi-White will undergo 40 to 60 hours weekly of Swahili language classes, with the first two months at the University of Florida alongside his student cohort. In August, he'll fly for a homestay with a family in Arusha, Tanzania, a city of 400,000 inhabitants. The program includes excursions to the nearby Serengeti National Park and to Zanzibar on the coast. He'll return stateside in December.

A year of public service

As part of the scholarship, awardees are required to fulfill a one-year federal service commitment. For Nardi-White, that's a "get to" and not a "have to."

"Before I was admitted to the program, I was applying for federal jobs, but I've put that on hold. When I return, we get access to the government's job portal that supports us in finding roles that closely associate with our experience. For me that's learning Swahili and being in Africa. My plan is to take advantage of that access to other national security agencies and then to transition into an intelligence role."

Despite the current uncertainty in global affairs, Nardi-White is more inspired than ever to work in the international arena.

"With all the turmoil and polarization right now, you need strong people that are there to support America and Americans and also do good work, separate from the politicization of all of it," he said. "That's my motivation: We need good strong people in government service if we want to continue to thrive as a nation."

What did he do on receiving the award?

"I went straight to the Prestigious Awards and Fellowships office to tell them-they were all super happy for me. The scholarship is really a buffer for me after graduation where I get to learn a bit more and have another adventure before I start working full time," Nardi-White said. "I'm very fortunate and thankful to all the people who helped and supported me through the application process. They were amazing."