Scholarship opportunities are available for students at Ottawa Hills Junior/Senior High School who wish to study abroad. And now is the time to be thinking about travel plans, as scholarship deadlines are approaching. The local AFS chapter can offer $500 to OH students traveling abroad through AFS! AFS also offers scholarships. To learn more, contact Linda Sherry at dsher343@aol.com.
Beyond the scholarships listed below, there are travel opportunities for short term (1-3 weeks, 4-8 weeks) summer travel, for a semester, and for a full year.
- 1-3 week programs: Kenya, Argentina, Spain, and San Diego
- 4-8 week programs: Thailand, Scandinavia, Columbia, France, and Japan.
In most years, between one and three OH students study abroad. One doing so this year is junior Anastasia Rea, who is living with a host family in The Netherlands.
Anastasia Rea
Junior Anastasia Rea has been studying abroad in The Netherlands since late August. She will return in early July. Here are her reflections on the time so far …:
“I have been having a great time in The Netherlands, seeing the country and deeply experiencing the culture. Some things were very strange at first, such as how direct people can be and taking the bike absolutely everywhere. But I am learning and starting to feel like I fit in a bit more.
“It is quite unique to have been living on a farm and taking such a curated class schedule, but I am loving the experience! The greatest barrier is still the language. I am very fortunate to be surrounded with patient people who are willing to assist me.”
“In just a month and a half, I am able to speak only Dutch at my host home (if I really don't know a word I throw in the English one and they understand) and in stores or restaurants. I am so grateful to be able to be abroad this year and making new friends while experiencing a fantastic culture.”
Scholarship opportunities:
CBYX (Congress-Bundestag)
Recipients of the CBYX Scholarship get to spend a school year in Germany. The student will live with a host family and learn the German language and about global affairs from a German point of view. You don’t have to speak German to apply, but you do have to be interested in learning German. Application deadline: Dec. 1
NSLI (National Security Language Initiative for Youth)
Interested in politics? Thinking about an international job or a career as a diplomat for the U.S. Department of State? Here’s where you get started. The goal of NSLI-Y is to improve the nation’s ability to talk with people of critical countries through shared languages. The U.S. government is looking for high school students and recent graduates to learn critical languages in the summer or during the academic year. Participants will live with a host family. The program focuses on language instruction while letting the student explore the host country. The targeted languages are Arabic, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Indonesian, Persian (Tajiki), Russian, and Turkish.
Application deadline: Nov. 4. If interested in this scholarship opportunity, you must start preparing immediately as it requires teacher recommendations, medical information, and other documentation that will take time to acquire.
YES Program (Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Program)
Launched after 9/11, this program increases mutual understanding between the United States and people of countries with significant Muslim populations. High school students and recent graduates can travel to these countries to live with host families and attend a local high school for an academic year.
Application deadline: Dec. 8.