WKU News

“Right now I’m feeling very, very tired,” Sarah said with a soft laugh, sitting thousands of miles from home on a Zoom call. “This is my first time ever being out of the country, and it’s a very new experience.”

New, yes—but also transformative.

Sarah, a WKU student in the Chinese Flagship Program, is spending her summer in New Taipei City. For eight weeks, she’s living and studying in Taiwan, immersed in a culture and pace of life unlike anything she’s ever known. What brought her here wasn’t chance. It was courage, determination, and the kind of opportunity that once felt impossible.

From Rural Roots to Global Streets

“I’m in the Tamsui District, and it’s very urban. We’re right in the middle of the city,” Sarah shared, “but I’ve spent my whole life living between rural, small towns and the suburbs.”

That stark contrast—the quiet of her Kentucky roots to the rush of life in Taiwan—has been eye-opening. “It’s completely different from anything I’ve ever experienced before,” she said, “but it’s so interesting, and I’m really excited for how the rest of the summer is going to pan out.”

Just days in, she’s already deep into coursework. “We kicked off class right away, the day after my flight landed in Taiwan. I’ve just been studying, studying, studying—and doing homework—but to study Mandarin in the heart of where it’s spoken is an indescribable experience.”

A Leap Made Possible

Sarah didn’t stumble into this opportunity—she built her way toward it. “I applied for everything I could,” she said, referencing the Freeman-Asia and the Benjamin A. Gilman scholarships she earned to fund her experience.

“There is a lot of encouragement from the Flagship Program to apply,” she said, “and by working closely with the Office of Scholar Development, students receive tons of support to pursue nationally competitive scholarships and opportunities.”

The process was rigorous. The competition was steep. And Sarah’s still processing the fact that she was selected.

“It was a great experience to go through the application process—and even cooler that I was even selected as a recipient. It’s kind of mind-boggling to me.”

But it wasn’t just about ambition. It was about representation—about making a way where one doesn’t always exist.

“I’m really happy that there are opportunities like these for students like me,” she said. “You know—Pell-eligible, rural, or diverse students, looking for new adventures and interesting programs to pursue.”

The Power of Curiosity

Sarah’s love for language was the spark.

“I’ve always really liked learning about different cultures and trying to study other languages,” she said. “I’ve never had the opportunity to take a full-fledged language learning course before.”

Flagship changed that. “The classes I’ve taken with the Flagship Program are on another level of intensive and immersive learning,” she explained. “That aspect really drew me in—being in an environment where you are going to learn the language. And you’re going to learn it fast. And you’re going to do a lot of hard work to get there. But it’s going to be incredibly rewarding.”

And what led her to even consider Flagship in the first place? “The reason I even tried it out,” she said, “was because I went on an Honors VIP campus visit to WKU.”

That one campus visit changed everything.

“Two of the Honors College ambassadors involved in my tour were part of the Flagship Program,” she recalled. “And they described it as a really unique opportunity.”

That initial glimpse into what WKU could offer stuck with her. “It sounded so interesting,” she said. “I was drawn in by the intensive nature of the program, the culture associated with the language, and the community it offered. It seemed like a great way to get involved not just on campus, but academically too.”

A Bigger World—and a Bigger Vision

Through her involvement in the Chinese Flagship Program and the Mahurin Honors College, Sarah has found more than academic rigor—she’s found purpose, connection, and a sense of belonging. Her current immersion experience is the next step in a much longer journey.

“Having the opportunity to study abroad, to live in a country where the language you’re learning is spoken—it forces you to use the language, and to improve upon your ability to speak naturally and fluently,” she explained. “Whether you’re going to the store or to a restaurant, in order to get what you want, you have to figure out how to use the language.”

That’s the challenge she signed up for—and exactly the kind of challenge she wants to keep pursuing.

She knows the growth she’s experiencing now will carry far beyond these eight weeks, and while she hasn’t mapped out every detail of her future, she knows it will involve language, culture, and the kind of work that bridges worlds. And no matter where that path leads, she’s confident she’ll be ready for it.