Isabel Makman ’14 at the Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia.

A Bates junior studying in St. Petersburg, Russia, is among the first recipients of a new scholarship offered by CIEE, an organization based in Portland, Maine, that provides international education and exchange programs.

Isabel Makman of Kalispell, Mont., is one of 13 recipients of CIEE’s Language Intensive Focus Track (LIFT) scholarship, and is the only one attending a Maine college.

The scholarship supports Makman’s goal of staying in St. Petersburg through spring 2013. A Russian major and Spanish minor, she’s studying the Russian language through a CIEE program, as well as literature and culture.

“I was very honored to hear that I would be one of the first recipients of this scholarship,” she said.

“My experience in Russia has been wonderful so far. I have been living with a host family, attending classes at St. Petersburg State University, volunteering as an English teacher and interning at an English-language newspaper.”

She adds, “Russia has certainly changed the way I think about the world. For example, there are people in Russia who seem to think communism was not such a bad thing, contrary to what I’ve always been taught. This new perspective has certainly been interesting and enlightening.”

CIEE’s goal for the LIFT program is to enable serious, academically focused students to pursue deep language acquisition. The inaugural LIFT scholars were chosen from a highly competitive pool of current CIEE students pursuing intensive language development in Arabic, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese or Portuguese, in addition to Russian.

“The caliber of students who applied for a LIFT scholarship is truly remarkable,” said CIEE President and CEO James P. Pellow. “Each recipient is clearly dedicated to internationalizing their education.

“It is our privilege to be able to provide these impressive students with important financial assistance that will allow them to continue to pursue their personal and professional passions in another country.”

Beginning in fall 2013, LIFT scholarships will be available to students on all year-long CIEE language programs. Learn more about the LIFT scholarship program.

A nonprofit, nongovernmental organization, CIEE is a world leader in international study and exchange programs.