Studying abroad can be expensive. But thanks to the Boren Scholarship, a Washington State University student will be leaving the country without breaking the bank.

“We’ve been very successful in having at least one student win every year,” said Sarah Ann Hones, director of distinguished scholarships.

The scholarship, sponsored by the National Security Education Program, seeks to send students to foreign countries to learn languages that are not commonly taught in American schools. Many scholarship recipients in the past chose to travel to China and studied Mandarin.

This year’s winner, Jackson Peven, is no different. As a computer science and Mandarin double major, he will be traveling to China. He hopes to one day work at a company with headquarters in both the United States and China.

He found out about the scholarship during Alive!. Various workshops are held at the beginning of each year to educate students on the different study abroad opportunities available to the WSU community.

With this scholarship in particular, students must sign a language pledge and promise not to speak English during the study abroad trip. For Peven’s program, he will live with a Chinese roommate who will also pledge not to speak English.

“They become extremely fluent,” Hones said. “It’s an honor statement, but it also is saying, ‘If you really want to learn this, immersion is a great way to learn it.’”

Spanish is the language most often taught in high schools in the United States, because it’s deemed one of the more important secondary languages in the country. This program chooses to focus on other “critical languages,” such as Mandarin, Russian, Portuguese, among other languages that could aid a student’s education.

“The world itself has become more global,” Peven said. “It’s hard to not be influenced by other cultures.”

He thinks it is important not to rely on English-speaking skills alone just because it is commonly taught all over the world.

Other than sharpening his Mandarin skills, Peven said he is excited to travel within the two-month break his program allows.

With the Boren Scholarship, students have the chance to experience life in another country and live within a different culture, all while gaining proficiency in an additional language.

In exchange for the funding, recipients who win this scholarship promise to work for the government for at least one year within three years post graduation. The student chooses the job they want and are paid for their employment. Anyone is eligible for the scholarship.

Reporting by Rowan Lopez Forkey