Florham Park’s Kai Youngren Named a Rhodes Scholar

U.S. Military Academy cadet, Kai Youngren, who was raised in Florham Park and graduated from Livingston’s Newark Academy, will in the fall of 2023 be heading to England’s University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

Youngren is one of 32 individuals nationwide thus awarded, and this good news follows on the heels of his being named Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point’s September 2022 Cadet of the Month.

“It was a great feeling,” Youngren says of being named a Rhodes Scholar. “I put so much work into the application process, and for many students it obviously doesn't pan out into a win, but for me, I just was incredibly grateful for the opportunity. I'm excited for what's going to come ahead.”

At Oxford, Youngren will study Development Studies.

Youngren, 21, says the application process was very arduous. “I had to get a nomination from West Point, and then collect about eight letters of recommendation from different instructors and mentors - different people around the Military Academy. In their personal statement, that really outlined how my early life has influenced my passions, desires, motivations, and how that coalesces with the needs of the world at the present time.” After selecting a course of study, Youngren submitted his application by October 3, and waited for about two weeks before a decision was made. “I found out in late October that I was going to be a finalist and started preparing for an interview. West Point was pretty good with this process; they held a couple of mock interview practices.” On Veterans Day, Youngren had his interview via Zoom, and the following day he learned he was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship.

From birth until age three, Youngren lived in Oregon with his parents, and the family soon moved back to Florham Park, New Jersey after his grandfather died in the September 11, 2001 attacks. Youngren first attended Briarwood Elementary School, where he had some “awesome teachers and great friends,” and then moved on to Brooklake Elementary School, where he had Karen James for a teacher, whom he calls a “legend” at the school. “At Brooklake, I was on the soccer team, but I also joined her club, which was the World War II History Club, and that's kind of where I fell in love with military history and studying conflict as well,” he says. As he was going through high school, he learned more about his grandfather’s death. “9/11 obviously was incredibly impactful in my view of the military and the importance of public service,” Youngren explains. “As I transitioned to my junior year, West Point was definitely on my mind, as well as serving in the military.”

The U.S. Military Academy houses several different military and policy think tanks, one of which is the Combating Terrorism Center, which offers a Terrorism Studies Minor, so Youngren has been able to participate in research on domestic and foreign terrorism, and take courses in Homeland Security. He says, “I'm in a course right now which is about understanding terrorist groups, and next semester I'll roll into a class called Combating Terrorism and looking at the military's policy tactics and strategy on combating terrorism.”

Youngren currently serves as a Brigade Deputy Commander. “I think one of my biggest accomplishments this past summer was leading cadet basic training, which is where we bring in about 1,200 incoming freshmen, or new cadets, and help them transition out from their civilian lives to soldiers,” he says. “I was the commander in charge of that training. It was a great experience, leading and building new teams, and that then rolled into my job as second in command of the corps of cadets, which has been a pretty surreal experience at 21 years old, leading 4,400 of my peers’ daily lives.”

Youngren’s next step is to become a Special Forces Officer, also known as a Green Beret. “I really want to just go into developing countries and conflict-ridden societies and help those societies ameliorate some of their troubles, as well as provide humanitarian relief to the vulnerable populations,” he says. “That's my next goal. Beyond that, we'll see where the journey takes me, but I definitely want to make that central to my career.”