Linfield College senior and Ballard High School graduate Lily Niland has been selected for a Fulbright scholarship to conduct original linguistics research in Peru.

“I want to see how Japanese residents in Peru use Spanish and how the two languages intersect,” Niland, who majored in intercultural communication and minored in Spanish and Japanese, said in a press release.

She wants to blend her passion for both languages in her research and looked for a site where people speak both languages. Peru’s large population of ethnically Japanese residents makes it ideal.

The Ballard native hopes to get a better understanding of attitudes about the use of Japanese and to examine how the language mixture of Japanese residents compares to that of earlier generations.

Niland’s love of language began when she tutored ESL students at Ballard High School.

“I taught them how to do algebra in English, and they taught me how to dance in Spanish,” she said.

Niland said she now lives with varying degrees of “Spanglanese."

“My friends speak mostly Spanish, my family speaks only English, and I am learning Japanese," she said in the press release. “Foreign language skills bring a degree of intercultural understanding that can help break down stereotypes."

Niland said she is eager to embark on her cultural journey and hopes to eventually become a translator and interpreter.

Niland was cofounder and president of Linfield’s Spanish Club and helped organize Linfield’s first annual Hispanic Heritage Day. She served as a volunteer reading tutor for Spanish-speaking elementary school children.

Niland is one of 20 Linfield College seniors who have been selected for Fulbright scholarships since 1999. Oregon's Linfield College was named the top producer of Fulbright awards for bachelor’s institutions in 2006.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more than 155 countries worldwide.