2 BYU graduate students win more than $20,000 to further their studies in foreign countries

Two BYU graduate students will ship off to countries around the world to study language immersion and national security issues with the funding they received from winning the David L. Boren Fellowship.Spencer Humiston and Annie Samhouri were two of the 119 graduate students who won the fellowship over 575 applicants. The fellowship is sponsored by the National Security Education Program and funds students as they work for the federal government.Humiston is using his fellowship to study and write a paper about Thailand’s current political state. He served an LDS mission in Thailand and has returned to visit the country with his wife many times.

Humiston said in an email he is looking forward to returning to Thailand with his family.“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Humiston said. “Last summer we spent a couple of months in Thailand and Bali with our little girl and had a great time. I’m expecting the next six months to be just as fun.”Humiston leaves for Thailand June 19 and will reside there until December 19. After his fellowship he will seek a job in the national security sector.Samhouri, who is currently in Amman, Jordan, won the Boren and Fulbright Graduate Fellowships for 2012-2013. She received a bachelor’s degree in political science with minors in middle eastern studies and international development from BYU. She studied Arabic for two years and completed two internships with the Jordanian Ministry of Social Development.After completing her fellowship, Samhouri plans to seek employment with United States Agency for International Development in the Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment or with the United Nations.