Guilford Teen Studying Russian Under State Department Program

GUILFORD, CT — Braden Barlow, an 18-year-old Hotchkiss School rising senior was awarded a U.S. Department of State scholarship to study Russian as part of a National Security Language Initiative for Youth five-week intensive summer program.

Part of the state department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the 2020 virtual language program was created as an online alternative to the overseas immersion program in response to the U.S. Department of State Global Level 4 Health Advisory and ECA's pause of in-person exchange programs.

Braden, competitively selected from approximately 3,000 applicants from across the United States, is one of approximately 500 students who will study Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Persian, Russian, or Turkish this summer as part of the virtual exchange.

"To be accepted, I submitted my high school transcript, filled out an application, wrote a couple essays, and had to have an interview. If I was selected as a semi-finalist, I had to have another interview," Barlow told Patch. "After being selected we took pretests to determine placement. The program has begun, we are in the fourth week."

Barlow said he began studying Russian at Phillips Academy his freshman year and had previously studied Arabic.

The program aims to provide robust language and cultural learning opportunities by virtually connecting the participants with teachers, international peers, cultural organizations, and communities where the target language is spoken.

"I discovered Mr. Svecs Russian class. His class was intensive, as we had to memorize passages in a couple of hours, had quizzes every day, and often had two to three hours of homework each night," he explained. "I earned top marks in his class and was moved to advanced Russian with no prior experience. Mr. Svec had a huge impact on me, as he believed in me academically and consistently challenged me during class to help me improve."

Barlow is also an AP Scholar with Distinction.

According to the State Department, many alumni of the language program go on to pursue education and careers vital to U.S. national security and credit the program experience with helping them improve their academic, leadership, and cross-cultural communication skills.

And that sounds like a good fit for Barlow who says he hopes to "use Russian in my career," as he eyes work in finance or diplomacy.

At Hotchkiss, Barlow plays football and lacrosse and currently has an offer to play college football at Johns Hopkins.