West Orange Student Earns Language Scholarship, Will Study In China

From NSLI-Y: Joshua Jeffers, a high school student in West Orange, New Jersey, has been awarded a National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) scholarship for 2017-18 by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Joshua will study Chinese in China for the summer.

Joshua is one of only approximately 600 competitively selected students from across the United States who will receive a scholarship to study Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Persian, or Russian overseas this coming year. While in China, Joshua will receive formal instruction and informal language practice as part of an immersion environment.

The NSLI-Y program is part of a multi-agency U.S. Government initiative launched in 2006 to improve Americans' ability to communicate in select critical languages to advance international dialogue and increase American economic global competitiveness. The goals of the NSLI-Y program include: promoting critical language learning among American youth; enhancing cross-cultural understanding and deepening trust; sparking a lifetime of interest in foreign language and culture; and developing the skills to advance international dialogue, compete effectively in the global marketplace, promote mutual understanding, and contribute to a more peaceful world.

NSLI-Y is administered by American Councils for International Education in cooperation with AFS-USA, American Cultural Exchange Service, AMIDEAST, iEARN-USA, Legacy International, the Russian American Foundation, Stony Brook University, the University of Delaware, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Wisconsin.

Applications for 2018-19 NSLI-Y programs are expected to be available at www.nsliforyouth.org in the early fall. For information about U.S. Department of State-sponsored exchange programs visit http://exchanges.state.gov.

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