CSW student Amanda Madigan ’15 was recently awarded a prestigious summer language scholarship from the U.S. Department of State!

Amanda was awarded a National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) scholarship for 2014-2015 and will be traveling to India this upcoming summer to study Hindi.

The NSLI-Y program is funded by the U.S. Department of State and provides merit-based scholarships for eligible high school students to learn less commonly taught languages in summer and academic-year overseas immersion programs. The State Department offers approximately 625 students per year the chance to study languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, and Persian overseas through NSLI-Y.

The NSLI-Y program, launched in 2006, seeks to increase the number of Americans who can engage with native speakers of critical languages by providing formal instructions and informal language education in an immersion environment. The goals of the program include sparking a life-long interest in foreign languages and cultures and advancing international dialogue and cross-cultural opportunities for young Americans.

Amanda will spend the summer in Pune, India studying the Hindi language. While attending CSW, Amanda has immersed herself in several courses related to cultural studies and Indian studies in particular, including ‘History of the Indian Subcontinent,’ ‘Classical Indian Dance,’ ‘Kundalini Yoga,’ ‘Indian Cuisine and Culture,’ and many more. She has also taken Independent Study Blocks to focus on her study of the Hindi Language, and recently traveled to France with other CSW students and teachers during Mod 5 of this year to perfect her French language and learn about French culture.

We hope you join us in congratulating Amanda on this fantastic achievement and wishing her luck during her travels in India this summer!