Willow Stone, a high school student in Clayton, has been awarded a National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) scholarship for 2018-2019 by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Willow will study Russian in Moldova for the Summer.
Willow, competitively selected out of over 3,300 applications from across the United States, is one of approximately 670 students who will study Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Persian, Indonesian or Russian overseas this coming year. While in Moldova, Willow will receive formal language instruction, live with a host family and experience the local culture as part of an immersion environment.
The NSLI-Y program is part of a multi-agency U.S. Government initiative launched in 2006 to improve Americans’ ability to communicate in select critical languages to advance international dialogue and increase American economic global competitiveness.
The goals of the NSLI-Y program include: promoting critical language learning among American youth; enhancing cross-cultural understanding and deepening trust; sparking a lifetime of interest in foreign language and culture; and developing the skills to advance international dialogue, compete effectively in the global marketplace, promote mutual understanding, and contribute to a more peaceful world.
NSLI-Y is administered by American Councils for International Education in cooperation with AFS-USA, American Cultural Exchange Service, AMIDEAST, iEARN-USA, the Russian American Foundation,Stony Brook University, the University of Delaware, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and the University of Wisconsin.
