University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Vinny Nguyen is taking his passion for language, diplomacy and international engagement across the world.
Nguyen, a double major in political science international/comparative studies and economics international public policy with a minor in Asian studies, has been selected for the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) to study Mandarin in Taiwan this summer. He will spend two months at Tamkang University in New Taipei City—from June 17-Aug.
15—as part of the prestigious U.S. Department of State initiative.
The CLS program is designed to provide rigorous language instruction and cultural enrichment to American students preparing for careers in public service or international affairs.
A member of the Innovations in Honors program in the UTC Honors College, Nguyen is no stranger to international experiences and language immersion. Last summer, he was selected for the CLS Spark—a virtual language program that provides American students with foundational skills in languages deemed critical to U.S. engagement with the world. In his case, that meant learning beginner Mandarin.
That experience helped propel him into the prestigious in-person CLS program.
“Within 10 weeks, I went from complete beginner to intermediate low,” Nguyen said of his CLS Spark experience. “That gave me a foundation—how to ask where the bathroom is, how much something costs. Now I get to build on that in Taiwan.”
At Tamkang University, he will begin with two weeks of dorm-style housing alongside his cohort. Participants then rotate between university housing and homestays with local families to deepen their language learning and cultural understanding.
Daily Mandarin classes, weekly one-on-one tutoring sessions, language partner meetups and hands-on cultural excursions—such as traditional cooking, tea ceremonies and dragon dance—round out the immersive experience.
This won’t be Nguyen’s first extended international academic experience. After graduating from Lookout Valley High School in 2022, he spent a year in Germany through the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange program, where he interned at the City Hall of Wolfsburg.
“That experience really solidified my passion for international relations,” he said. “It gave me a first-hand look at how interconnected local economies are and inspired me to pursue economic diplomacy.”