Roeper student receives national award to study language in Russia

April 12, 2012 

Maddie Wilson, Roeper sophomore and resident of Royal Oak, received a National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) scholarship to study language and live in Russia for the summer. After participating in a three-day training in Washington D.C., Maddie will depart for Russia on June 24th and return August 6th. Her six-week exchange experience will expose her to 120 hours of formal intensive language learning while also immersing her in Russian culture as she stays with a host family.

Maddie competed nationally and was one of 3,000 applicants for the scholarships. The NSLI-Y team looks for candidates who are curious, culturally aware, committed, and motivated for language learning. Academic records and recommendations are looked at in addition to application essays. Maddie described the interview process as “long and tedious.” She was asked about her independence, how she would feel about not being able to contact others, etc.

“I think it is a fair measure of the capabilities of a person, to put them in an extrinsic situation and gauge their reaction,” Maddie explains. “I want to be able to immerse myself [in] something so different from anything that I have ever experienced.”

The National Security Language Initiative for Youth aims to offer language learning opportunities to high school students in languages less commonly taught at school. Scholarships are available for students to study abroad and learn Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Korean, Persian (Tajik), Russian, and Turkish. Applicants do not need prior previous language experience to apply. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, NSLI-Y ultimately endeavors to “prepare American citizens to be leaders in a global world.”

For additional information about youth exchange opportunities with National Security Language Initiative for Youth, please call 1-800-790-2086 or visit www.nsliforyouth.org.

Founded in 1941, The Roeper School is a uniquely personalized, co-educational school for gifted and talented children in preschool through grade 12 from over 60 communities in southeast Michigan. With campuses in Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills, Mich., Roeper was conceived on founding principles that recognize the power of education, choice and self-expression, and the transformative impact these principles have on young minds.