STAFF REPORT
Glasgow News 1
Zachary Vandermolen of Glasgow is one of seven Western Kentucky University students to receive a $25,000 David L. Boren scholarship to fund his study of language in Taiwan during the 2026-27 school year.
These students are in the university’s Chinese Flagship Program, and this trip is part of their capstone year. The program is “intended to advance students to a level of fluency required to operate in a professional environment,” according to WKU. The students will spend their first semester at a host university and then the second “in a professional internship related to their academic and career goals.”
Vandermolen attended Glasgow High School until he transferred to the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science, where he graduated. As a pre-med student at WKU who studies chemistry and Chinese, he plans to attend the University of Kentucky College of Medicine after completing the flagship program.
These scholarships are sponsored by the National Security Education Program, an initiative “designed to build a broader and more qualified pool of U.S. citizens with foreign language and international skills.”
Former U.S. Senator David Boren helped write the legislation that created the National Security Education Program.
“To continue to play a leadership role in the world, it is vital that America’s future leaders have a deep understanding of the rest of the world,” Boren said. “As we seek to lead through partnerships, understanding of other cultures and languages is absolutely essential.”
Over 7,000 students in the U.S. have received Boren Awards since 1994.
