Courtesy: Carlos Roca
Do you aspire to get a better perspective of our world in a way that you have never pictured it before?
Here is a little bit about me; I was born in Cuba, an island roughly 90 miles off the south coast of Florida. And before I knew it as a little kid, only six years of age, my family moved to the United States in search of a better future and an opportunity to live better. As a young kid I grew up bilingual, but that was not all of the language learning I have put myself through.
My name is Carlos Roca, a senior at Hastings Senior High School, and I want to share something very special with all of you. As a little kid I aspired to travel and to see the world in many ways. The beginning of the summer of 2014, I did just that. I embarked on a journey that opened my eyes to the world for the first time.
Through the program NSLI-Y (National Security Language Initiative- for Youth), I had the opportunity and the privilege to not only represent our country as a young ambassador, but to have the experience of living in another country. I flew to and stayed in Seoul, South Korea, where I got to meet all sorts of new people, stay with a family, and go to school as if I were a Korean student myself. I had the time to enjoy and embrace the characteristics of their culture, which was significantly new and different from what I was used to. Nevertheless, I adapted and learned to accept our differences and enjoyed learning about their culture and language.
The school life was an experience of a lifetime and the host family that I stayed with was like real family to me; I had a great stay at their house. The summer made me want to actually stay and actually live there. I grew really close to all my family members and school friends, and before I knew it I was learning so much with them.
NSLI-Y is a program sponsored by the U.S. State Department that dedicates themselves to giving students the opportunity to travel abroad and study what they consider “U.S. critical languages.” These are languages that have little or no influence at all in our society or country, languages that are never usually found or taught in high schools or universities around the U.S. Only on pretty rare occasion do you see them. And NSLI-Y is looking for students all across the United States that have an ambition to study these critical languages, and that are willing to step up for their country as leaders to represent us internationally with knowledge that we all need to acquire in order for the world to be a better place. If you have that spark and fire, and think this might be for you, then you are most likely correct. The path to world peace is through communication, and if we can all understand each other, wouldn’t you think the world would be better off?
In the future I plan to go to college and study international relations and world affairs, with of course more foreign language and literature studies along with that. I also see foreign service as something I would like to do down the road. I am thinking about graduating from college and starting off as a teacher, helping students understand why foreign language learning is so important and valuable, and getting them to apply it to their daily lives.
NSLI-Y applications this year are due October 30, 2014. You can also apply online at http://www.nsliforyouth.org. Program locations include Korea, China, Turkey, India, Jordan, Estonia, Moldova, Morocco, Oman, Russia, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and other locations around the world. Apply with the hope of learning these interesting critical languages: Korean, Chinese (Mandarin), Turkish, Hindu, Arabic, Persian (Tajikistan), and Russian.
Courtesy: Carlos Roca
