Success Stories

Korean, Academic Year 2015-16, South Korea
Alexi especially loved her host family experience with NSLI-Y. She participated in the 2015-16 Korean academic year program and wrote several installments on her host family for NSLI-Y Interactive.
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Russian, Summer 2012 + Academic Year 2013-14, Russia
Several years after her NSLI-Y program, Anna was awarded a Fulbright grant to research the link between Soviet Nostalgia and Populism in Russia.
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Chinese, Summer 2009, China
Following her NSLI-Y program, Annabeth received the Fung Scholarship and the Schwarzman Scholarship, allowing her to continue her study of the Chinese language, culture, and history.
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Chinese, Summer 2014 + Academic Year 2017-18, China
"I am constantly building on my NSLI-Y summer in Suzhou, China experience, and it is awesome when I am able to give back to my community at the same time," says Ben, who participated in the summer of 2014 and for an academic year in 2017-18.
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Russian, Academic Year 2015-16, Moldova
Cara was a grand prize winner in the U.S. Department of State’s International Exchange Alumni 2016 U.S. Alumni Citizen Diplomacy Challenge.
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Russian, Summer 2011, Russia
After graduating from Georgetown University with a degree in Russian linguistics, Crystal returned to her hometown of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to teach Russian to students from her local high school.
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Arabic, Summer 2016, Jordan
Deni’s experience speaking with Syrian refugees in Arabic while participating on NSLI-Y in Jordan during the summer of 2016 had a major impact on him.
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Arabic, Summer 2015 and Academic Year 2017-18, Morocco
NSLI-Y gave Elise first-hand knowledge of the Arab world and Islam, and since participating in the summer of 2015, she has been busy spreading this knowledge and awareness.
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Persian (Tajiki), Summer 2016, Tajikistan
Jack had a love of cultures and languages instilled in him at a young age. His father’s military service took their family to Austria, Belgium, and Germany.
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Korean, Summer 2015, South Korea
Jeremy carried on his Korean skills as a communications intern with the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI).
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Chinese, Summer 2008, China
Julius’ 2008 Chinese program led him down a path that allowed him to return to China on a teaching fellowship and work for GE.
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Arabic, Summer 2009, Egypt
Kevin developed a passion for Arabic when he was 13 years old and later found NSLI-Y. Through his NSLI-Y experience, he studied in Egypt and became immersed in the Arabic language.
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Persian (Tajiki), Summer 2016, Tajikistan
Mayesha is currently working as an Analyst in Chicago. She attended Georgetown University and in 2017 served as a NSLI-Y Alumni Representative for the Greater Washington, DC area.
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Turkish, Academic Year 2014-15, Turkey
After spending an academic year in Izmir, Noah has maintained a strong interest in Turkish culture and language, finding it increasing relevant in importance.
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Arabic, Summers 2009 + 2010, Egypt + Morocco
Salman believes NSLI-Y changed his perspective and life. “When I started doing … exchange programs, I realized that … when you put aside prejudices and talk to people, they tell you a different story of how they live.”
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Chinese, Summer 2014, China
Shobhit credits his NSLI-Y experience in China in 2014 as one of the primary reasons he applied for the Thomas R. Pickering fellowship.
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Arabic, Summer 2012 + Academic Year 2013-14, Oman + Morocco
"My whole life revolves around Arabic at this point, and I love it."
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