Reflections on the NSLI-Y Alumni Representative Workshop

Sravya Kotamraju

Hi y’all! My name is Sravya Kotamraju, and I am the NSLI-Y Alumni Representative for Dallas in the Southwest region. Inspired by the positive impact NSLI-Y had on me during my summer program in Seoul in 2022, I decided to apply to be an Alumni Representative to help promote the benefits of high school study abroad.

In my first year as an Alumni Representative in 2023, one of the most essential skills I honed was organization and logistical planning as it was the first time I had to organize large events. In doing so, I realized the fulfillment one gets from bringing together diverse communities - both the NSLI-Y Alumni Association and the prospective applicant pool enthusiastic about language learning and international cultures. My events in 2023 spanned from outreach events to Kahoot competitions and, as a result, I met people who were just as varied.

Prior to becoming an Alumni Representative, my interactions with other NSLI-Y alumni were limited to my cohort. This Representative role has gifted me the opportunity to continue to expand my worldview post-program by meeting other alumni, finalists, and applicants. Returning to D.C. for the second (and sadly, final) time as an Alumni Representative provided a chance to reflect on the lessons learned over the past year. It was both familiar and more exciting to participate in similar workshops but now as someone who has the benefit of experience behind them. Additionally, it was heartwarming to reunite with the other Alumni Reps that I had gotten to know over the course of the past year as well as onboard the new first-year Reps. Through hours of feedback, brainstorming, and discussions, we reflected on the lessons learned, shared advice, and strengthened our bond as the new Representative cohort. My favorite session was led by Dr. Sam Potolicchio, who shared unique insight into the art of professional communication. I appreciated his enthusiasm and his teaching method, gaining useful techniques that I could use in my daily life. We ended each day of the workshop with walks around Washington, D.C. and visited sites like the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, and Planet Word.

While the midpoint of my two-year term as an Alumni Representative is bittersweet, I’m excited for what this year will hold and for all the events planned!

Doer He

Hey y’all! I’m Doer, and I’m the Alumni Representative for Phoenix, Arizona. Just like NSLI-Y last summer, having the opportunity to dig deeper into and pay forward my NSLI-Y experience through the Alumni Representative Workshop just a few weeks ago was such a blast.

It was even more thrilling for me, because unlike most of my fellow Alumni Representatives who had engaged in their NSLI-Y experience abroad, I was at home in the 110ºF+ Arizona heat, learning Russian through VSI. I was excited to live away from my family for a few days with a group of newfound friends bonding around a shared love for our target languages — and especially to vicariously live through my fellow Alumni Reps’ “more real” NSLI-Y experiences.

But what I immediately picked up on — through our chats on the walk to our hotel, a NSLI-Y Kahoot (that Phillip dominated), and a crash course on the different implementing organizations and study-abroad scholarships available — was just how remarkably different, yet incredibly enriching each person’s NSLI-Y experience was. Discussing the very real culture shocks that we all had, from my Russian teachers insisting that I calculated the temperature in Celsius wrong because “it can’t get that hot” to Alex’s crosswalk stories from Indonesia, helped me appreciate and notice the unexpected blessings that came in each of our NSLI-Y experiences that I hadn’t noticed before. Whether it was VSI, in Taiwan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, or in any of the host countries, I was glad to learn how uniquely impactful NSLI-Y was on everyone’s skills, confidence, worldview, and future plans.

The NSLI-Y Alumni community was also something that stood out to me. I never imagined I’d bond with people through continuing to learn our various target languages on Duolingo, at the poetry and etymology exhibits at Planet Word, or by speaking Mandarin with Katherine, Phillip, and Kyle while walking all the way to the Capitol. But seeing relationships form within our cohort of Alumni Representatives around our shared values of learning, global engagement, and inclusion and hearing about successful events all over the country truly inspires me to stay true to why I applied to be an Alumni Rep in the first place — to continually live out and pay forward the confidence, belonging, and communication skills that I developed last summer.

With this inspiration, and Dr. Potolicchio’s inspiring workshop on leadership and communication, I’m pumped to serve as an Alumni Representative this year! I look forward to getting to meet you, especially if you’re in the Phoenix area, and to continually build these formative memories that I’ve loved so much.

Afton Vanek

Going into my second year as a NSLI-Y Alumni Representative, I was so excited to see everyone again at the workshop. When we all first arrived, it was awesome to see all the new faces and many returners. It’s so inspiring to see how the first-years react to the workshop because of how excited they are to be starting their new position. At the same time, I was excited to take on the new role of being a mentor to the first-years. Although it is intimidating, I am glad to have been mentored by my own second-year representatives last year, and they gave me the tools I needed to take on this role.

I already have a lot planned as a second-year rep with Christie and I heading up the social media and Audrey and I working on the quarterly newsletter. I hope I can train the first-years enough so that they are ready and willing to take over when our term is up as second years. It was bittersweet knowing that this was my last year as a representative, but I am so excited to continue planning alumni events and being a mentor for the first-year representatives.

Katherine Verrando

Hi everyone! My name is Katherine Verrando, and I am the Alumni Representative for Southern California. In the Summer of 2023, I studied through NSLI-Y’s Mandarin Chinese program in Taipei, Taiwan. Also, I participated in the Virtual Summer Intensive (VSI) program in 2022. My VSI and abroad experiences were eye-opening. Despite starting with no Chinese language experience before NSLI-Y, my Chinese language skills vastly improved during a short time. NSLI-Y also taught me essential life skills and has instilled a life-long love of learning in me. As an alumni representative, I strive to raise awareness about the NSLI-Y program to underrepresented groups and foster an alumni community in Southern California.

Recently, I attended the NSLI-Y Alumni Representative Workshop in Washington D.C. The workshop was a transformative experience, and I enjoyed meeting my fellow representatives for the first time. As a first-year representative, I gained valuable knowledge from the second-year representatives and informative presentations. From the introduction on U.S. government programs/resources, second-year representatives’ presentations, and Dr. Potolicchio’s inspirational leadership session, the workshop equipped me with the communication and planning skills to serve my region. I feel inspired after learning about the past initiatives of the second-year representatives and ready to implement my own events after hours of discussion and event planning with all of the representatives.

My favorite part of the workshop was connecting with my fellow representatives. Although we participated in different language programs in various years, we are united by our shared passion for language learning and aspirations to give back to the NSLI-Y community. Through candid chats as we walked between the various monuments in Washington D.C., impromptu Gong Cha stops, and the visit to the Planet Word language museum, I felt closer to each one of my fellow representatives. I am so excited to work with these incredible people this year.

While we were only in Washington D.C. for a brief 48 hours, I gained important insights into the NSLI-Y Alumni Association and the alumni representative role from this action-packed weekend. To my SoCal NSLI-Y community: I am so excited to serve you all this year!! Please don’t hesitate to reach out, and I hope to see you around at some of our events this year!