So far we’ve mostly been talking about undergraduate study abroad programs and opportunities, but there are also abroad opportunities for other age groups as well. Though we are catering to undergraduate students at the moment, Gulliver is also very interested in helping older and younger demographics enjoy work and study abroad. We’ve been thinking about the various outlets for these age groups and a few interesting opportunities keep popping up.
The first is the National Security Language Initiative for Youth program. Sponsored by the US Department of State and administered by several well known program providers – including AFS, American Councils for International Education, Concordia Language Villages, and iEARN-USA – the program provides scholarships to students who will be studying languages important to future US diplomacy. Languages approved for the program include Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Hindi, Korean, Russian and Turkish. This opportunity is incredible! 550 scholarships are offered and eligibility is standard (US Citizenship, 15-18 years of age, and 2.5 GPA or higher).
I am particularly interested in this program given my own study abroad history. After taking Mandarin classes in college, I decided to spend one summer studying in China and another summer working there. Chinese wasn’t offered in my high school, and I wanted to learn, but financial constraints meant that I was not able to study it at the time. A programs like this would have been world changing for me. So hopefully, this blog can help spread the word a bit and give other interested high schools students a leg up in their language goals.
US Embassy, Berlin, Germany
So high school and college students are catered for, but what about recent grads. Yes, there are Fulbright Scholarships and other opportunities, but I personally would be looking for something different. Something involving work. Something a bit more adventurous. This passing interest made a recent New York Times article catch my eye: “Hiring Window Is Open at the Foreign Service.” Wow! The Foreign Service! Something about the Foreign Service shouts adventure and though I know postings in certain countries could be boring, I also know there is definitely more than a little part of me that finds it exciting. Alas, the Foreign Service might not be for me, but a few readers out there might find this opportunity to be their cup of tea. So if you want to get posted around the world, meets lots of people, and get involved in diplomacy, this might be an opportunity for you.
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