Drew Gochnauer is an international politics major at Penn State. Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.
April 25, 2025
By Sean Yoder
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State undergraduate Drew Gochnauer earned a 2025-26 Boren Scholarship, enabling him to study Indonesian and travel to Malang, Indonesia.
As a Boren Scholar, Gochnauer would have the opportunity to immerse himself in a language with support from the Institute of International Education and the National Security Education Program. The Boren Scholarship funds most of the costs of an awardee’s overseas expenses, such as program tuition, room and board, books and supplies, visas, air travel and more.
Gochnauer, of Lancaster, is an international politics major in the College of the Liberal Arts. He said he would use his scholarship funding to first complete three months of intensive instruction in Indonesian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison this year. He would then travel to Malang, Indonesia, for another three months abroad. Gochnauer said earning the Boren Award was an honor.
“To me, it’s a vote of confidence in my commitment to public service and national security. I have worked hard to build my resume through internships and coursework,” he said. “This scholarship feels like a milestone that validates all those efforts.”
Gochnauer has completed internships with the Pennsylvania State Senate and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. At Penn State, he served as a THON committee member and danced a full 46 hours this year as part of an independent dance couple.
The Boren Awards program offers the Boren Scholarship to undergraduates and Boren Fellowship to graduate students for the intensive study of language and culture abroad. Universities are asked to evaluate applicants for this national award, and Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Mentoring can help applicants develop their materials. The deadline for the undergraduate scholarship is typically in December, and January for the graduate fellowship.
Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Mentoring is part of Penn State Undergraduate Education, the academic administrative unit that provides leadership and coordination for University-wide programs in support of undergraduate teaching and learning at Penn State.
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