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 Chinese (Mandarin) stories from .

image of Justin and two of his peers making heart shapes with their fingers in front of a mountain sunrise

Chinese (Mandarin)

Coming Back, One Family: A Reflection of Six Weeks in Nanjing

Justin is from Salem, Oregon and participated in the 2017 China summer program. Weary-eyed, all twenty-one of us dragged our luggage down to the lobby of the ac...
image of nsli-y korean cohort smiling and posing together with a banner that has korean writing

Global

2018-2019 Application Season Announcement

The U.S State Department's National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) merit-based scholarship programs for high school students to study a forei...
Image of Julius with his completion certificate and two of his peers smiling and holding theirs

Chinese (Mandarin)

How NSLI-Y Led to International Law: Julius in China

Julius Mitchell says he began studying Chinese by accident. He had studied Spanish in his middle school in Chicago and had hoped to continue it in high school. ...
Image of Annabeth in graduation garb

Chinese (Mandarin)

NSLI-Y Alumna Becomes Schwarzman Scholar: Annabeth in China

Annabeth Gellman began studying Chinese in tenth grade and learned of NSLI-Y through her Chinese teacher. In the summer of 2009, just after graduating, she part...
Lauren posing in a shopping mall with her host family in China

Chinese (Mandarin)

The Rewards of Leaving Your Comfort Zone: Lauren in China

Starting a new chapter of my life at American University has made me reminiscent about my NSLI-Y experience in Zhuhai, China. Learning how to navigate a new cit...
Banner image that has the title "From NSLI-Y to Pickering Fellowship the Importance of Cultural Exchange and Public Service" in yellow

Chinese (Mandarin)

From NSLI-Y to Pickering Fellowship: The Importance of Cultural Exchange and Public Service

After being raised in a small town in Maryland, Shobhit Kumar had the opportunity to attend an international high school in New Mexico called United World College.
Image of Joey and his running group

Chinese (Mandarin)

Running for a Purpose

Last October, I ran into this team on accident as I was practicing on the track at a school close to my host family's house. Coach Liu, the coach of the priva...
teachers and language partners

Chinese (Mandarin)

Back in Zhuhai

冬天的时候我（有一点开玩笑的）问了我妈妈我能春假去中国吗
a sign that says "welcome to zhuhai"

Chinese (Mandarin)

Zhuhai: A Day in the Life

大家好! I'm Eileen and I lived in Zhuhai, China in the summer of 2016. My time on the NSLI-Y program was unforgettable. I returned to the U.S. as a more com...