Michael McShane, a junior at Cherokee High School, has been awarded a National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) scholarship for 2016–17. McShane will study Russian in Moldova for the summer of 2016. Aside from studying both Russian and Spanish at school, he is also the president of the class of 2017, treasurer of Cherokee’s Student Council, a member of the National Honor Society, Slavic Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, and participates in the Track and Field program.
McShane 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, Russian, or Turkish overseas this year. While in Moldova, McShane will receive formal instruction and informal language practice in an immersion environment.
The NSLI-Y program seeks to increase the number of Americans who can engage with native speakers of critical languages. The goals of the NSLI-Y program include sparking a life-long interest in foreign languages and cultures, and developing a corps of young Americans with the skills necessary to advance international dialogue and cross-cultural opportunities in the private, academic, and government sectors.
NSLI-Y is administered by American Councils for International Education in cooperation with AFS-USA, American Cultural Exchange Service, AMIDEAST, iEARN-USA, Legacy International, Russian American Foundation, Stony Brook University, the University of Delaware, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Wisconsin.
Applications for 2017–18 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.
