Viewing 1 - 4 Out Of 4 Results
  • Learning Arabic While Learning to Lead
    The first time he applied for an international exchange program, 17-year-old Carlo Aragon didn’t realize he was starting down a path toward a career in the US Foreign Service. He was in high school, at a meeting of the international club, when  he heard about the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y). The president of the extracurricular club at the time had just returned from a summer studying Arabic in Egypt and recommended that Carlo apply for the State Department… Read More
  • Language Immersion to Leadership
    Jesse Lynch and Lisa Roman were two of the last fellows who studied in Syria through Arabic Overseas Language Flagship program. Eleven years later, the two have continued using their language skills to build successful, global careers. Looking back, Mr. Lynch says he was always interested in languages but started to focus his attention on Arabic and the Middle East after 9/11, when he was a sophomore at Florida State University. “I knew I wanted to do something that would allow me to see… Read More
  • My Civic Education, Six Years Later
    About 25 years ago, Benazir Bhutto made history when she took oath as the first woman Prime Minister of Pakistan. Her story is inspiring for many young women in Pakistan today, including me. That’s why seeing her book on a shelf in Lorne Craner’s office caught my eye. I was meeting with Mr. Craner, the president of American Councils during Civic Education Week, in my capacity as an alumni mentor. Civic Education Week is a unique opportunity for Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study students… Read More
  • Dreaming in Swahili
    Learning Swahili brought Rebecca Gailey to Tanzania the first time. A dream has kept her coming back.“Ota,” the Swahili word for dream, inspired the name of the educational program she helped start in 2013, while she was still finishing her undergraduate studies.That year, more than half of the country’s tenth graders failed their required standardized tests. For most of these students, failing the test meant an end to their educational opportunities. The lack of resources and huge class sizes… Read More