Stories

The NSLI-Y program languages include Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Indonesian, Hindi, Korean, Persian (Tajiki), Russian and Turkish. Listed below are all multimedia stories written, and shared by NSLI-Y students, alumni, partners, and supporters. These stories include all NSLI-Y program languages and are ordered chronologically from the most recent post.

Alumni and current students, join the conversation by submitting your own story.

Click on a language below to see stories and media related to a specific NSLI-Y program language:

Displaying stories from .

A shot I took in Bukchon Hanok Village of the traditional architecture.

Korean

summer, somewhere

In this poem, Ashley gives a lyrical glimpse into her summer in South Korea.
Image of temples and their reflection on a body of water

Chinese (Mandarin)

What is Religion? 宗教到底是什麼？

NSLI-Y Chinese alumna Halden discusses exploring religion during her time abroad in Taiwan.
NSLI Y Interactive Twitter and FB

Global

NSLI-Y VSI Highlights: Artmaking and Creativity

This past summer, NSLI-Y students were able to immerse themselves in the artforms of their host countries all while practicing their target language.
image of nsli-y korean students smiling and posing together with a banner that has korean writing

Global

2022-2023 NSLI-Y Application Season Announcement

Applications for the NSLI-Y 2022-2023 summer and academic year programs are now open!
NSLI Y Interactive Twitter and FB

Global

NSLI-Y VSI Highlights: Cooking and Cultural Exchange

To ensure the safety of students, teachers, and staff amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic, the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) chose to make its summer program virtual for all countries except Korea. The NSLI-Y Virtual Summer Intensive (VSI) program of 2021 was a virtual alternative to NSLI-Y's standard summer programming that aimed to provide an intensive virtual language learning experience for NSLI-Y students. Despite the distance between program participants and staff, students were nonetheless able to learn about the cultures-- and specifically the cuisines-- of their respective host countries. Virtual calls quickly became cooking shows as students put their language skills to the test in cooking activities. Below are some highlights of food and cooking-related activities that students took part in this past summer:
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Russian

NSLI-Y Russian Summer With A Twist

Abby Herring is from Athens, Georgia and is an alumna of the Russian Summer 2020 and 2021 VSI programs.
An image of Alejandra in traditional Korean dress with a member of her host family

Global

The NSLI-Y Host Family Connection Collaboration

Halden is from Pinehurst, NC and participated in the China Summer 2018 and Taiwan AY 2020-2021 programs.
A banner image showing dumplings Gabe made during his NSLI-Y VSI experience as well as calligraphy and art that Gabe created.

Chinese (Mandarin)

A Virtual Trip to Shanghai

Gabe is from Ypsilanti, MI and is an alum of the 2021 Chinese (Mandarin) virtual summer program based in Shanghai.
A headshot of Christa wearing a black and gold dress. Behind her is some water, trees, and a boat.

Hindi

NSLI-Y Alumni Spotlight: Christa

Christa (she/her) is from Virginia Beach, VA and an alumna of the 2016 Hindi Summer program in Pune, India. She has her B.A. in Global Affairs with a concentration in Middle East Studies.