With support from the Boren Scholarship, Virginia Commonwealth University student, the Vietnamese, and Chester resident Theresa Dinh will study in Ho Chi Minh City and Danang, Vietnam.
The Boren Scholarship, part of the National Security Education Program, supports undergraduate students who wish to study less commonly taught languages. Dinh will spend an academic year abroad. Participants commit to a year of federal government service upon graduation.
Dinh, an international studies major in the College of Humanities and Sciences, is also a member of the Honors College and VCU Globe. She will study human trafficking and other topics at Hoa Sen University and in the State University of New York-Brockport’s Da Nang program.
“I will be researching what communication strategies are most effective in reaching young women and families in the Mekong Delta region,” said Dinh.
A rising VCU junior, Dinh hopes to study human development in graduate school before pursuing a federal government service career with the Department of State or the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Dinh is a graduate of the Math and Science Center at Clover Hill High School.
“My application to Vietnam for the Boren Scholarship was initially inspired by my longstanding desire to return to the country where my parents and ancestors are from,” she said. “I would never have been able to afford studying abroad for a year in Vietnam without the Boren.”
Dinh is also participating in the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program this summer, where she will research issues and trends in international affairs, U.S. foreign policy, and economics. She is a recipient of the Freeman-ASIA award, which will further support her studies abroad.
Dinh worked with the National Scholarship Office, located in VCU’s Honors College, to apply for the Boren Scholarship. The office provides support for VCU alumni, graduate students and undergraduates who wish to compete for prestigious national and international scholarships. Interested students and alumni can contact the office at [email protected] or 804-828-6868.
