NSLI-Y Honors National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month: Corbin

Corbin is half-Brazilian and spent a significant amount of his upbringing in Brazil, which he credits with inspiring him to participate in NSLI-Y. Corbin notes that a bicultural childhood allowed him to understand how beneficial understanding another language and culture can be in terms of opening doors to new relationships, skills, and interactions. With the support of his parents and his sisters, all former participants in study abroad themselves, Corbin decided to apply for the NSLI-Y Chinese program. With his strong interest in business, learning Chinese seemed a natural step in an internationally-focused career and mindset for Corbin.

Corbin strongly enjoyed his time in Taiwan and developed strong relationships with those in his host community. Corbin often found himself connecting with local children, whether that involved teaching impromptu swimming lessons at a local pool or befriending the host siblings of his cohort members. Throughout these interactions, Corbin made an intentional effort to be a positive representative of America and a positive role model to the children. He built a relationship with a cohort member’s younger host sibling who was raised by a single mother noting that, "I tried to pass on some of the joys I experienced with my dad growing up and to be a positive older male figure.” From friends he made at a local American school to a local farmer he met who taught him about rural life in Taiwan, Corbin has maintained these relationships since returning to the United States. Corbin believes that through NSLI-Y, he has developed a stronger understanding of different cultures and how much a person’s cultural and geographical background influences who they are.

Since returning from Taiwan, Corbin has dived into the business world. Corbin is a first-year student at New York University, studying business and political economy with a minor in Chinese. He notes that his speaking skills are strong because of his immersion experience and he enjoys using them to connect with Chinese students at NYU. The summer after his NSLI-Y experience, Corbin participated in a summer business internship. The internship was in private equity, and Corbin was the youngest intern. He felt comfortable with the rigor and communication skills needed due to his experience on NSLI-Y. Summing up his NSLI-Y experience, Corbin reflects that "NSLI-Y is one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever been given.”