West Orange Student To Study Arabic In Jordan, Live With Locals

WEST ORANGE, NJ — A West Orange High School junior is heading to Jordan to study Arabic this summer, thanks to a US Department of State National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) scholarship for 2018-19 through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Mike Petros was selected from over 3,300 applications across the United States, according to school officials. While in Jordan, Petros will receive formal language instruction and live with a host family to experience the local culture as part of an immersion environment.

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.

NSLI-Y is administered by American Councils for International Education in cooperation with AFS-USA, American Cultural Exchange Service, AMIDEAST, iEARN-USA, the Russian American Foundation, Stony Brook University, the University of Delaware, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and the University of Wisconsin.

Applications for 2019-20 NSLI-Y programs are expected to be available at www.nsliforyouth.org in the late summer. For information about all U.S. Department of State exchange programs for American high school students, visit https://exchanges.state.gov/highschool.

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Photo: West Orange Schools

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