UTC junior Vinny Nguyen was one of three students nationwide selected to study in Vietnam as a 2025 Boren Scholarship recipient
photo by Angela Foster/UTC
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior Vinny Nguyen has been awarded a David L. Boren Scholarship, one of the nation’s most competitive and prestigious national security-focused study abroad programs.
Mr. Nguyen, a double major in political science: international/comparative studies and economics: international public policy, with a minor in Asian studies, will travel to Vietnam in October for a six-month immersive language and cultural study experience.
A member of the Innovations in Honors program in the UTC Honors College, Mr.
Nguyen recently completed a Critical Language Scholarship in Taiwan, where he studied Mandarin at Tamkang University in New Taipei City through a U.S. Department of State program.
Mr. Nguyen was one of just three undergraduate students nationwide selected for the Boren Scholarship to study in Vietnam in 2025.
“I didn’t expect it,” he said of receiving the Boren award while still in the midst of his Taiwan studies. “I woke up and saw the email, ‘Congratulations on your Boren Award.’ The first thing I did was call my mom.”
Mr. Nguyen will spend 25 weeks in Vietnam for the immersive study experience, with plans to travel throughout the northern, central and southern regions of the country.
The Boren Scholarship, administered through the U.S. Department of Defense, supports U.S. undergraduate and graduate students studying critical languages and cultures in regions deemed vital to U.S. national security. Award recipients commit to one year of federal government service following graduation.
“Awards like the Boren are an investment in America’s future—that we are investing in our young future leaders to build the skills they will need later on to advance American interests, both in the United States and abroad,” said Dr. Trey Straussberger, director of the UTC Office of National Scholarships.
“The Boren is meant to train the next generation of leaders in American diplomacy, especially in languages that are critical to advance American interests abroad. I think this will advance Vinny’s intention to serve in the foreign service later on, but it’s also a homecoming.”
Mr. Nguyen, who was born in Chattanooga and graduated from Lookout Valley High School in 2022, said his father emigrated from Vietnam in 1995 and his mother in 2002.
“Even though I’m a heritage speaker, my Vietnamese is somewhat limited because it’s just at-home Vietnamese,” he said. “I want to grow it more professionally and be able to use more sophisticated terminology, especially if I want to use it in diplomatic work.”