News from The Mahurin Honors College

Veronica Butler of Lexington, Kentucky is an International Affairs, Political Science, and Mandarin Chinese triple major. In high school, Veronica was in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program and knew she wanted to be in an honors program in college. “I did an Honors Toppers tour, and it was such a fantastic experience. I loved the campus and the Honors College specifically,” she said. Veronica has always known she wanted to study Chinese, so she felt even more compelled to attend WKU because of the Chinese Flagship Program.  

In her time so far on campus, Veronica has immersed herself in the community. She is a member of Out in Honors, Feminist Student Union, Queer Student Union, and College Democrats. Recently, she was named a Spirit Master, an official student ambassador for WKU, a position with a rigorous application and interview process. She is happy to show prospective students around campus as an admissions ambassador, “which is a fancy way of saying tour guide,” she said with a chuckle.  

In her Politics of North Korea class, she had the opportunity to work on a survey about American security concerns. In this project, she got to help write questions to collect data about what Americans think top national security concerns should be. “That was a really cool opportunity. It was an inside look at what survey questions are like and doing that,” she said. Outside of the class, she worked with her professor Dr. Timothy Rich (PCAL, Political Science) and classmate Summer Doris to develop the results into an article that’s now published by The Diplomat. Now, she has submitted a Faculty Undergraduate Student Engagement (FUSE) grant application to work with Dr. Rich on a domestic survey looking at voter disengagement trends.  

Being connected with honors has given Veronica an endless number of opportunities, and it has been a source of community. “Whether that’s encouraging me to do research or apply to those nationally competitive scholarships, I don't think I would be in this position if it wasn't for honors and that support group,” she said in reference to Catalyst Cohort. “Being surrounded by other people who are like me…really ambitious, driven students who are dedicated to serving the community. It has really pushed me to see what all is possible.” 

With her dedicated spirit and the encouragement from peers and advisors, Veronica won the Gilman award to study abroad in Taiwan this summer. As an International Affairs student, she had her sights set on studying abroad before coming to college, so Gilman was already on her radar. With the support from the Office of Scholar Development advisors and Catalyst Cohort, she applied for the award in her first semester. “Working closer with OSD, they helped to lay out what the Gilman application process would look like for me,” she said. “It was nerve-wracking while waiting to hear back, but everything worked out in my favor.” 

She’ll be at an eight-week program at Tam Kang University in Taipei in summer 2025. “I'm looking forward to learning more about Taiwanese culture and improving my Chinese skills over the break,” she said. In the program, she’ll attend language-immersion classes and explore the city. “I'm also excited to just look around…the very first boba shop is in Taipei, Taiwan, I think. I want to check out some boba, get the real deal experience,” she said with a laugh.  

Currently, the Gilman scholarship, and other federally funded scholarships, are under a funding freeze. In light of these events, Veronica said “I'm super grateful to have been awarded Gilman, and I hope I'm not one of the last to win this award. I know that there's so many other talented and deserving students at WKU and all over the U.S. So, I will always be an advocate for Gilman and for these opportunities.” 

Her advice to other scholars is “say yes to everything.” That was her freshman year motto, and it gave her the courage to say “Yes, I can do it.” Veronica has made many accomplishments and cherished memories due to this mindset. “I think going forward, I might have to learn when to make sacrifices, because my schedule is pretty full now that I've said yes to a lot of things,” she said. Veronica’s willingness to say yes and get involved is an illustration of the ascent towards excellence.  

Article update: In addition to receiving the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, Veronica has also been awarded the Freeman Award for Study in Asia (Freeman-ASIA), which awards up to $7,000 to U.S.-based undergraduates with demonstrated financial need who will study in east or southeast Asia, aiming to increase the number of U.S. citizens and permanent residents with first-hand exposure to Asia and its peoples and cultures.