Lynn’s presentation focused on the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) scholarship, a fully-funded merit-based program that sends American high school students overseas to study critical languages, including Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, and Korean. The scholarship offers academic year, summer, and virtual program options.
“My main goal [of the presentation] was to encourage others to apply,” Lynn said. “It’s an experience that lets you appreciate the beauty of other cultures firsthand and gain more independence and life skills too.”
Lynn’s journey began with two long flights: two hours from Ohio to DC, then seven more across the Atlantic to Morocco. While she had flown farther once before (on a family trip to South Korea), this time felt different. From Ohio to DC, she traveled alone, carrying nothing but a single suitcase, a backpack, and her camera. In DC, she met her cohort of twenty other teenagers and a chaperone who would become her companions for the next eight weeks.
Lynn brought only essentials and a few changes of clothes, planning to shop for the rest once she arrived. It was a gamble that paid off as she immersed herself in Moroccan life from June 15 to August 7. The summer heat peaked around 90 degrees each afternoon and then mellowed into cool evenings. Without air conditioning in most buildings, Lynn learned to sleep with windows flung open to catch the night breeze.
Her host family welcomed her into their lives: Loubna, a homemaker; Abdou, who worked IT at an electronics shop, and their two daughters, Malak (19, studying nursing at university) and Sara (16, still in high school). The family had been hosting students for six years, partly so the daughters could practice English, but also because they genuinely loved learning about other cultures. They spoke Arabic, French, English, and Spanish.
The cultural immersion was rich and sometimes surprising. Dinner never arrived before 10 or 11 p.m., a stark contrast to American mealtimes. Certain cafes, dubbed “Man Cafes” by the students, remained mysteriously reserved for men only. Yet these peculiarities only deepened Lynn’s fascination. After school, she and her friends explored the city, where she honed her bargaining skills with shopkeepers and discovered her favorite spots like Himmi, a bakery café near her house–perfect for studying, and Sahbi, an eclectic restaurant serving everything from tacos to traditional tagine, a dish of rice and vegetables. The five-hour time difference was easy enough to handle, for Lynn was too busy exploring to worry about any jet lag.
Students interested in applying can reach out to Lynn for additional resources.
Applications for the 2026 summer and the 2026-2027 academic year NSLI-Y scholarships were due by November 12, 2025.
