KINGSTON, R.I. – May 28, 2025 – Four University of Rhode Island students—all members of the University’s prestigious Chinese Language Flagship Program—will spend the 2025-26 academic year studying in Taiwan, each as recipients of a David L. Boren Scholarship Award.

Boren Scholarships are among the most prestigious study-abroad awards offered to U.S. college students. The National Security Education Program, a federal initiative to expand the pool of U.S. citizens with foreign language and international skills in world regions critical to U.S. interests, sponsors the awards. In exchange for funding, recipients agree to work for the federal government for at least one year after graduation.

This year’s URI recipients—Priyanka Shanker of Napa, California; Annie Liang of Westerly, Rhode Island; Anashelly Herrera of Woonsocket, Rhode Island; and Carolyn Rohr of Clifton, Virginia—bring URI’s total number of Boren Scholars to 52 since the program’s inception. The four, who major in Chinese along with a second major, will spend the next academic year in Taiwan as part of the Chinese Flagship Program’s capstone year abroad.

“I feel truly honored to have been selected for the Boren Scholarship, especially given how competitive the scholarship is,” said Liang, who also majors in computer science. “The funding helps relieve financial burdens and allows me to fully commit to my studies abroad.”

“I applied for the Boren Scholarship because, during my studies, I became very interested in pursuing a future career in global health security,” said Herrera, a biological sciences major. “Since Mandarin is considered a critical language—a language important for U.S. national security, economic prosperity, and cultural understanding—applying to become a Boren Scholar seemed like a great opportunity to further my career goals.”

The four students, who will leave for Taiwan in August and return next June, spent last summer in Taiwan as part of the Flagship’s summer immersion program—studying at separate universities. But next year, they will all attend National Chengchi University in Taipei. They will take culture and language courses as well as classes in their second major, completely in Chinese, alongside Chinese classmates. They will also take part in a professional internship related to their second major.

“I’m glad to be going with students I already know because that adds a sense of familiarity and support during such a long stay,” said Shanker, who will be making her third trip to Taiwan as part of the Chinese Flagship Program. “At the same time, it will also be great to have the experience of getting to know other people.”

“Most of us studied in different universities in Taiwan last summer so we weren’t really together,” said Herrera. “This time will be different, so it’s both exciting and comforting to know I’ll be surrounded by friends, and we’ll be able to support each other.”

A total of six students in the Chinese Flagship Program—including Tegan Kingsley, and Gilda Gilbert, who received other scholarships—will take their capstone in Taiwan during the next academic year, said Yu (Joyce) Wu, director of the URI’s Flagship Program. Started in 2010, the program combines intensive instruction in Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture with two summer immersion sessions and a year-long capstone trip to help students reach professional proficiency in a language considered exceptionally difficult to learn for English speakers.

“There are many things I like about the Flagship Program,” said Herrera. “The support from the professors is game changing. They work hard to ensure the success of their students. I also enjoy the intensity of the program, which allows students to really notice the difference in our language proficiency compared to when we started. When you first start a program like this, you like to imagine what it would feel like to finally reach native fluency, and now that we’re nearly there, it’s cool to see all the things we can do that weren’t possible before.”

“I like the community the program has created,” added Rohr. “Through the Flagship Program, I have met so many people and made so many friends. I think my academic success is definitely tied to the support I’ve received from my teachers and peers in the program.”

A major in wildlife conservation and biology, Rohr hopes to work with the federal government doing wildlife disease research. “I think the scholarship will give me the ability to immediately jump into that career when I return to the U.S.”

Shanker, who majors in political science and international studies, plans to eventually serve as a U.S. Foreign Service officer.

“I believe the Boren Scholarship will help me get my foot in the door of government work,” she said. “It provides not only immersive language and cultural training but also a clear pathway into public service. Even if I pivot to a different government-related role, the experience and connections I gain through Boren will be invaluable.”

“For my future career, I hope to combine my computer science and Chinese skills,” said Liang. “The Boren Scholarship helps me by providing the opportunity to further develop my language proficiency and cross-cultural communication skills through study and work abroad.”