 | | | Sienna Marley Photo provided | | | | | | Sienna Marley, a rising senior at Miramonte High School in Orinda, has been awarded a National Security Language Initiative for Youth scholarship for 2017-18 by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Sienna will study Chinese in Xi'an, China for the summer.
Sienna 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, Sienna will receive formal instruction and informal language practice as part of an immersion environment.
Sienna has studied three years of Mandarin at Miramonte High School. She says she is excited to live with a host family, as well as attend a Chinese high school there. Sienna looks forward to exploring Xi'an, becoming more proficient in Mandarin and engaging with 20 other students who share her passion for Chinese language.
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.
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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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA