Government student receives Boren Scholarship to study in Brazil, master Portuguese

Next year, Liberty University Helms School of Government rising senior Tyler Kerr will master Portuguese on an eight-month trip to Brazil using the prestigious Boren Scholarship.

The Boren Scholarship, sponsored by the National Security Education Program (NSEP), provides funding for undergraduate and graduate students to study abroad in countries critical to U.S. national security. Kerr, who is pursuing a B.A. in International Relations: Politics and Policy, will travel to Brazil in January 2026 with the goal of perfecting his Portuguese and using the language and his cultural experiences to strengthen U.S. national security within the federal government. He will return the following August.

The extensive application process requires candidates to submit short essays, list references, and provide a language assessment. Kerr will study in Maceió, the capital city of Alagoas, where he will spend 18 hours each week studying Portuguese with a one-on-one instructor. Kerr already speaks Portuguese, but his primary focus abroad will be improving his grammar and writing and gaining more professional skills within the language.

“God has opened up so many doors,” said Kerr, who received the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) to Brazil during his freshman year at Central Virginia Community College (CVCC) before transferring to Liberty. “I felt called through that experience with CLS to study diplomacy and international relations. God has shown me His faithfulness and showed me what I’m studying right now is His plan for me by giving me these opportunities.”

Numerous Boren Award recipients have pursued careers in the Departments of State, Defense, and Homeland Security, largely due to the skills and experience they gained through the scholarship. Kerr’s career ambition is to become a foreign service officer.

Kerr credits his experience in Liberty’s Helms School of Government with pushing him forward in his academic and professional pursuits.

“My studies so far have prepared me well,” said Kerr, who chose Liberty in part because of its strong emphasis on biblical worldview. “Liberty has so many great professors who are not just academics but have real experience in the field and are very competent in what they’re teaching. … They do a really good job preparing students, and it’s all from a Christian worldview, which has been a blessing.”

While at Liberty, Kerr attended government-sponsored embassy field trips to Washington, D.C., and participated in two Helms School initiatives, the Alexander Hamilton Society and the Strategic Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Initiative (SIFA).

“Both have helped prepare me to understand more about intelligence analysis using open-source intelligence to make briefings and make predictions,” he said. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the quality of the Helms School. It’s obvious that the Helms School does care about our success and preparing us for outside the classroom.”

Kerr’s monthslong application process was marked by multiple tedious revisions, editing, and extensive peer review. He said the guidance from Professor of Government and Fulbright Program Advisor Dr. Edna Udobong was essential in becoming a finalist for the Boren Scholarship.

“Dr. Udobong was definitely invaluable in this process,” he said. “She reviewed my essays multiple times, she gave me guidance in so many areas, and she sat one-on-one with me to go through everything. Without her wisdom in this process, I wouldn’t have won.”

He said his acceptance would not have been possible without assistance from multiple parties, including classmate Naomi Park; Residential Department Chair for Interdisciplinary Studies Dr. Travis Bradshaw and Professor of Government Dr. Mary Prentice, who provided letters of recommendation; and Dr. Andrew Milacci, from Liberty’s Department of Modern Languages, who assisted with Kerr’s language assessment.

Kerr also mentioned that Liberty TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) alumna Jenna Keckler, a 2023 Boren Scholarship recipient, encouraged him to take a “leap of faith” and apply. Keckler now works for the Department of Homeland Security.

“A part of faith is using the wisdom that God has given you and taking the opportunities that are available to you to fulfill God’s calling,” Kerr said. “And that’s what (Keckler) really encouraged me to do. When I graduate, I’m not worried, because these programs prepare you well and look great on a résumé.”

Although Kerr is the only Boren Scholarship finalist from Liberty, two other students have been named alternates, meaning they could still be selected if a finalist declines the award.

For more information on scholarships, contact Professor of Government Edna Udobong, Liberty’s Fulbright Program advisor and scholar liaison, at eudobong3@liberty.edu.