study abroad and risk letting my debt increase?

Hi everyone,

I (28M) am hoping to get some advice or others perspectives on my situation.

I’m finishing up a master’s degree and currently have about $65K in federal, unsubsidized loans, all mostly around 7.89% interest. Of that 65K, $10K is just sitting in my bank account from an earlier loan disbursement that I never actually needed. I originally took out loans to fund school, but then I got a job at my university that now coverd tuition, so that money has just been sitting there.

Right now I work in an admin role at the school making $52K a year. It’s basically front desk/operations support work—stable, but pretty menial and not aligned with my long-term goals in national security/policy. The main benefit is that the remainder of my tuition is covered, so if I stay, I can finish my last 6 credits without taking on additional costs and keep a steady income. I can also pay that 10K i have sitting in my account back into my balance.

The complication is that I was awarded a Boren Fellowship to study Mandarin in Taiwan for about a year. It comes with around $25K, but requires that I complete 1 year of qualifying work in federal service or even a nonprofit with a national security angle within 2 years of returning. If I don’t meet that requirement, I may have to pay back the $25K. From what I understand, there can be some flexibility, like extensions to the 2-year window or possibly qualifying through national security-adjacent nonprofit roles, but it seems inconsistent, which is adding to my anxiety.

I don’t know what the right choice is, and I suppose I’m just looking for advice. I’ve never done long term study abroad before and I feel like it is a great opportunity. At the same time, I don’t want to indulge myself just to be in financial ruin when I’m back. I want to view this opportunity as an investment and a way to get out of working these menial admin jobs, but idk if I should risk it and opt for stability over a high risk high reward situation.