WKU News

“Three degrees. One for each major,” explained Rowen Wilkinson, a graduating senior from Knoxville. Earning bachelor's degrees in International Affairs, Chinese and Spanish, Wilkinson shares how life as a student-athlete and Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) cadet is preparing him for a career of public service.

A Mahurin Honors College (MHC) student, Wilkinson discussed his unique learning opportunities as his reason for becoming a Hilltopper.

“I chose WKU because of the Chinese Flagship Program offered here. I knew I wanted to use my language skills in my future career, and the Flagship program offered the highest level of Chinese instruction I could find,” Wilkinson said.

He entered WKU in fall 2022 with 42 credit hours, equivalent to a sophomore, which gave him more opportunity to extend his curricular and co-curricular pursuits.

“I added the Spanish and International Affairs degrees because I wanted to improve my proficiency in a third language as well as use international affairs to tie both of the other degrees together and allow me to pursue a career as a diplomat or political figure in the future.”

Wilkinson received a sample of international affairs when studying abroad for three months in Taiwan at National Taiwan University after his sophomore year.

“This was a very intensive program that allowed me to drastically improve my language abilities and gave me a significant amount of immersion and hands-on experience,” Wilkinson said.

Paralleling his experiences abroad, Wilkinson immersed himself into campus life as he navigated being an MHC student and active participant in ROTC and WKU’s Track & Field team.

“ROTC has had a huge impact on my time here at WKU, shaping a future career path for me and providing me with many opportunities to learn strong leadership skills and develop my character as a person,” he said.

“I have had opportunities to apply the leadership skills I learned in ROTC at Cadet Summer Training, which is a massive test of your capabilities to determine what you are best suited for in the army.”

Wilkinson joined the track team in 2023 as a distance runner, competing in both cross country and outdoor track and field events.

“Being a D1 athlete on top of all my other obligations has been incredibly difficult. Through the track team, I developed even stronger self-discipline and time management skills,” he said.

Wilkinson competed in the 8k for cross country and 800m and 1500m for track and field. Although he has finished track meets for WKU this season, he will compete unattached [to a team or sponsor] at a competition at Vanderbilt University before graduation.

Wilkinson also noted his involvement in the Spanish Club, where he served as treasurer, managing finances for the student organization.

“The best part of my WKU experience has been just being part of so many different groups. From track to academics and ROTC, I have been exposed to countless people with varying cultures and group dynamics. This interpersonal experience has been invaluable to my college experience as I develop myself as a person.”

On May 7, 2026, Wilkinson will graduate from WKU summa cum laude, an honor given to students who have completed their baccalaureate study with both cumulative overall and cumulative WKU grade point averages of 3.80 - 4.00.

“After I graduate, I will first spend a year in Taiwan, studying and advancing my language abilities to the highest level I can,” Wilkinson said, speaking of his Flagship Capstone year. “Then, I will commission into the U.S. Army where I will be pursuing a career as a Foreign Area Officer, serving as a representative of the United States in embassies around the world.”

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#WKUGrad series: For more stories on graduating students in the #WKUGrad series, visit https://www.wku.edu/news/articles/index.php?view=default&categoryid=799&multinewsid=187