As appearing in source.colostate.edu | March 30, 2026| By Joe Gioradano

CSU doctoral student earns Critical Language Scholarship from U.S. State Department

A Colorado State University doctoral student who researches conflicts between people and carnivores has received a prestigious U.S. Department of State scholarship that will take her to East Africa to strengthen her foreign language skills.

Abigail Whittaker, a second-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, has been named a Critical Language Scholar, a program that provides intensive overseas language and cultural immersion for college students. In 2026, about 315 students were selected from U.S. colleges and universities out of roughly 4,500 applicants.

Whittaker will be returning to Africa visiting Arusha, Tanzania, to study Swahili as part of a rigorous, eight-week immersion program that is roughly equivalent to a year’s worth of traditional language courses through a university.

“It’s truly an honor to be chosen for this opportunity, particularly since this year’s finalist pool was so competitive,” Whittaker said. “Receiving this scholarship feels like a validation that my research and career goals are worthy of public investment, which is very rewarding but also a little intimidating!”

Whittaker’s research explores how agro-pastoralist communities in Tanzania live alongside large predators including lions, leopards and hyenas in the face of growing pressures from climate and land-use change. She also studies whether support programs, such as cash payments, could address underlying poverty and help herding families respond more effectively to both wildlife threats and climate pressures.

She explained that improving her Swahili language skills will help her navigate travel and conduct rural fieldwork more independently while improving the accuracy of her data collection and analysis.

“I’m particularly excited about the way that greater fluency will allow me to build better relationships with local partners and community members,” she said. “In community-based work, it is so important to be able to look someone in the eye, understand the thoughts and concerns they’re expressing and reciprocate authentically.”

At CSU, Whittaker is a Leopold Schepp Foundation Scholar in the Salerno Lab, which explores how and why people adapt to environmental changes. She is also a graduate researcher in CSU’s Center for Human-Carnivore Coexistence, a multidisciplinary group interested in the complex relationships between people and wildlife around the world.

“This is exciting and a wonderful opportunity,” said Associate Professor Jon Salerno. “Language is so important to working effectively in the communities that Abigail’s project spans.  She’s an exceptional scholar and a bright star among inspiring early-career conservation scientists, so the scholarship couldn’t be more deserved.  We’re all excited for the outcomes of her research.”

Whittaker, a first-generation college student, earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental science and a minor in economics from California State University, Chico. She spent more than a decade working across the environmental, agricultural and development sectors before moving to Colorado to pursue her Ph.D.

She previously conducted socioeconomic research in Malawi and the American West.

“It was my earlier work in Malawi that really cemented my desire to focus on the challenges of balancing wildlife conservation with human equity and community empowerment in Africa,” she said.

Following graduation, she hopes to lead applied research for a nonprofit or government organization, bringing an interdisciplinary approach and a strong focus on people-centered conservation to her work.

CSU students interested in applying for this scholarship can contact Mary Swanson in the Office for Scholarship and Fellowship Advising, at [email protected].