- When a speaker presented on NSLI-Y at her school in Missouri, Texas, Morgan was immediately intrigued. She had enjoyed studying Greek and Latin but wanted a new challenge. With that, Morgan applied for NSLI-Y Russian. She had always been interested in Russian history and culture; an academic year, she figured, would give her more time to learn the language and to better understand her goals for the future. Still, it is difficult to anticipate what the actual experience would be like. Morgan… Read More
- WASHINGTON DC Years after their experience with the Future Leaders Exchange Program ended, four alumni were back in the US this week learning how to GoViral. The four won spots in the inaugural GoViral Reporting Tour, which gave 20 journalists and media professionals from Central Asia, Armenia, and Georgia a chance to meet with industry professionals around the US and to learn about digital media. The tour is sponsored by the US Department of State and organized by the Foreign Press Center… Read More
- This interview with Youth Exchange and Study (YES) alumni Mirgentian was conducted by FLEX alumna Tatyana with minor edits from American Councils. Read the original interview here and check out the YES Program website for more stories from our YES alumni.Albania has come a long way since its turbulent and uneven transition to democracy in the early 1990s. Although a member of NATO and an official candidate country for EU membership, the country remains one of the poorest in Europe. Still, many… Read More
- By Ma Jianhong, Teacher of Critical Languages Program 2016-17, on his experience as an exchange teacher at Izard County Consolidated Elementary School in Arkansas. When I learned from the award letter it was mandatory for a TCLP exchange teacher to complete 8-10 hours of outreach each month, my exhilaration of exploring a new country suddenly dissipated, followed by my worry about how I could accomplish such a mission. It had been looming large on my mind ever after. A lot of questions… Read More
- Editor's Note: This article was originally written by the YES Program. Inspired by the values of inclusion he experienced during his exchange year in the US, Nehemiah brought sign language to his hometown in Nigeria. Living for a year in the United States often provides opportunities for exchange students that would have been unthinkable in their home countries. For Youth Exchange and Study (YES) student, Nehemiah, from Nigeria, spending an exchange year in Arvada, Colorado meant… Read More
- Global Youth Service Day is the largest community service event in the world, an annual weekend celebration of youth engagement in community service, that encourages young people to work together to address the world's most critical issues at a local level. In Southeast Europe, Youth Exchange and Study (YES) and Youth Exchange and Study Abroad (YES Abroad) students from the US initiated service-oriented projects that underscored the collective power of youth to improve their communities and… Read More
- During a recent trip to Indonesia, Vice President Mike Pence met with 23 Indonesian alumni of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) at the US Embassy in Jakarta. The professional exchange initiative seeks to build the leadership capabilities of young professionals across the region, strengthen ties between the US and Southeast Asia, and nurture a community among the people of Southeast Asia. Dissa Ahdanisa traveled to the US for the first time last year on the YSEALI… Read More
- Two alumni from the Florida Atlantic University College of Business (FAU) discovered a way to prevent students from finding test answers online during exams. Elena Soboleva was pursuing her MBA at FAU on an international student visa when she noticed a large number of American students receiving high marks without studying; she discovered that many of these students find their test answers online. A local news station in Orlando, Florida had also investigated cheating methods at a local station… Read More
- By Emma, YES Abroad Alumna (2014), Bosnia and Herzegovina. Emma is currently an intern in the American Councils office in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This article was originally published on the American Councils South East Europe website. Returning to the place where you were a high school exchange student is a strange thing. At times, you feel like you're 17 again, but the trick is to remember that you're not. You're older now, and (hopefully) wiser. You've been given an opportunity not just to… Read More
- This story was originally published by Youth Service America. Rin is both a YES alumni and YES Alumni Coordinator in Kosovo. She spent her exchange year in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Rin has always dreamed about a peaceful and sustainable environment in her home country of Kosovo. After spending a year in the US as a YES student, Rin decided to put the English skills she acquired to good use by helping those with fewer education opportunities in Kosovo. She created a language program that… Read More
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