Amanda Weaver, PhD, JD, is a commercial litigation attorney with the law firm Snell & Wilmer. She received her BA in Russian and English Linguistics and her PhD in Applied Linguistics from Arizona State University. Amanda received her MA in Russian and her JD from the University of Arizona. Amanda taught Russian at the Melikian Center’s Critical Languages Institute, and taught Russian as a faculty associate through ASU’s School of International Letters and Cultures. She is also a certified therapeutic (horseback) riding instructor.
Barbara McConnell Barrett [Distinguished honorary member], JD, was the 25th Secretary of the US Air Force, US Ambassador to Finland, and senior advisor to the U.S. mission to the United Nations. She was interim president of Thunderbird School of Global Management and a Fellow teaching Leadership at Harvard. After training at Star City, Russia, Ambassador Barrett qualified for flight to the International Space Station.
Ronald M. Birks, MSEE, is a senior software engineer and international representative with Honeywell International, Inc. He received a BA in Russian and a Russian and East European Studies (REES) Certificate at ASU and studied Polish and Albanian in the Critical Languages Institute (CLI).
Location of the language
Albania is situated in Southeastern Europe on the western Balkan Peninsula. It shares borders with Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Greece, and has coastlines along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.
Support options
Melikian Center Awards Program
For superior applicants to study ANY language at CLI.
Supported by the Melikian Center's endowment and by private donations, the Melikian Center Awards Program provides scholarships for superior applicants to study ANY language at CLI.
Students who study in Arizona only can receive up to $1,750
Students who study in Arizona and partake in the optional 4 week abroad extension can receive up to $4,000
Students who study for 8 weeks abroad with CLI can receive up to $4,000
We also offer targeted awards for Albanian, Polish, and Ukrainian:
- Through a fund created by CLI Albanian alumna Dr. Elaine H. Berkowitz, CLI is able to provide a limited number of awards of up to $500 for students of Albanian.
- The generosity of past CLI students has made it possible to provide a limited number of awards of $500 for students of Polish.
- Thanks to the generosity of private donors from the Ukrainian community, CLI is able to provide a limited number of awards of up to $1,000 for students of Ukrainian.
Please note, you do not have to submit separate applications for the targeted awards for Albanian, Polish, or Ukrainian. If you are applying to study any of these languages, your application for the Melikian Center Awards Program will automatically be considered for these awards.
ASU students, non-ASU students, teachers, and all other non-students are eligible to apply for this funding.
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Title VIII Fellowships
For U.S. citizen graduate students to study the less commonly taught languages of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union.
Supported by the Melikian Center's endowment and by private donations, the Melikian Center Awards Program provides scholarships for superior applicants to study ANY language at CLI.
Students who study in Arizona only can receive up to $1,750
Students who study in Arizona and partake in the optional 4 week abroad extension can receive up to $4,000
Students who study for 8 weeks abroad with CLI can receive up to $4,000
We also offer targeted awards for Albanian, Polish, and Ukrainian:
- Through a fund created by CLI Albanian alumna Dr. Elaine H. Berkowitz, CLI is able to provide a limited number of awards of up to $500 for students of Albanian.
- The generosity of past CLI students has made it possible to provide a limited number of awards of $500 for students of Polish.
- Thanks to the generosity of private donors from the Ukrainian community, CLI is able to provide a limited number of awards of up to $1,000 for students of Ukrainian.
Please note, you do not have to submit separate applications for the targeted awards for Albanian, Polish, or Ukrainian. If you are applying to study any of these languages, your application for the Melikian Center Awards Program will automatically be considered for these awards.
ASU students, non-ASU students, teachers, and all other non-students are eligible to apply for this funding.
Project GO Awards
For ROTC students for 8 weeks abroad with CLI can receive up to $4,000
Supported by the Melikian Center's endowment and by private donations, the Melikian Center Awards Program provides scholarships for superior applicants to study ANY language at CLI.
Students who study in Arizona only can receive up to $1,750
Students who study in Arizona and partake in the optional 4 week abroad extension can receive up to $4,000
Students who study for 8 weeks abroad with CLI can receive up to $4,000
We also offer targeted awards for Albanian, Polish, and Ukrainian:
- Through a fund created by CLI Albanian alumna Dr. Elaine H. Berkowitz, CLI is able to provide a limited number of awards of up to $500 for students of Albanian.
- The generosity of past CLI students has made it possible to provide a limited number of awards of $500 for students of Polish.
- Thanks to the generosity of private donors from the Ukrainian community, CLI is able to provide a limited number of awards of up to $1,000 for students of Ukrainian.
Please note, you do not have to submit separate applications for the targeted awards for Albanian, Polish, or Ukrainian. If you are applying to study any of these languages, your application for the Melikian Center Awards Program will automatically be considered for these awards.
ASU students, non-ASU students, teachers, and all other non-students are eligible to apply for this funding.