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 .

Taylor posing in front of a gold, ornate temple. There are other people in the background.

Hindi

NSLI-Y Alumni Spotlight: Taylor (Hindi)

NSLI-Y Alumni Profile of Taylor, who studied Hindi in the summer 2012 program in Pune, India and the Academic Year 2013-14 program in Noida, India.
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Chinese (Mandarin)

NSLI-Y Alumni Profile: Andy (Chinese)

Andy's participation in the 2015 NSLI-Y Chinese Summer program transformed his life.
Tania head shot

Arabic

From Tears to Turmeric: My NSLI-Y VSI Journey

Tania is from New York, NY and an alumna of the Arabic 2020 Virtual Summer Intensive program. With my fingers stained orange with turmeric, I lifted my computer and pointed the screen to a pot of boiling carrots, sweet potatoes and tofu. “Does this look okay, Ustatha Raja, should I add more water?” I asked.
Pickering Foreign Affairs Program logo

Global

Two Alums Awarded the 2021 Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship

John Leake (Russian Summer 2014) and Mary Bohn (Korean Academic Year 2013-14) were recently awarded the 2021 Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship. The Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Fellowship is a U.S. Department of State program...
MacKenna and a friend in a traditional Korean hanbok

Korean

The Truth about NSLI-Y!

MacKenna is from St. Louis, MO and an alumna of the 2019 Korean Summer program in Seoul, South Korea. Getting accepted to NSLI-Y, attending orientation a few months later, and hopping onto a plane to Seoul, Seoul Korea was a whirlwind.
Helen Headshot

Korean

Memories of a Summer Spent Learning Korean

Helen is from Baltimore, MD and an alumna of the Korean 2020 Virtual Summer Intensive program. Reflecting on this past summer, I find that I don’t think of the sticky humidity of July or the salty spray of ocean foam. Instead, I think of the five weeks I spent as a NSLI-Y VSI student...
Hattie Seten

Arabic

Arabic Alumna Awarded Prestigious Rhodes Scholarship

Hattie Seten, an alumna of the 2016-17 Arabic Academic Year program, was announced as one of just 32 American 2021 Rhodes Scholars. Next year, Hattie will join students from all over the world to study at the University of Oxford.
Madeleine headshot

Chinese (Mandarin)

NSLI-Y VSI 2020 Reflection

Madeleine is from Kunkletown, PA and an alumna of the Chinese 2020 Virtual Summer Intensive program. The NSLI-Y virtual summer program experience is an experience I will never forget. Not only did I increase my knowledge of the Chinese language...
Joanna Teaching Korean This Summer

Korean

From Student to Teacher: Joanna’s NSLI-Y Journey Comes Full Circle

Joanna is from North Carolina and an alumna of the 2009 Korean Academic Year program in Seoul, South Korea. She also served as a Korean Instructor for the 2020 Korean Virtual Summer Intensive Program...