This summer David Calvert, a rising NCSSM senior, will be travelling to India to learn Hindi as a part of the National Security Language Initiative, a program hosted by the U.S. State Department.

Like many NCSSM students who over the summer elect to conduct research, complete an internship or volunteer their time to charities across the state, David is challenging himself to learn a new language.

He was selected for the National Security Language Initiative after an application process that he learned about from a friend.  He hopes that this program will serve as a launching pad into his exploration of language as he is very interested in languages and linguistics.

During his time in India David will stay with a host family and study Hindi four hours a day, five days a week. During his free time he will have the opportunity to learn more about Indian culture and engage with his surroundings. David says he is very excited to be going to India because he thinks it will be both familiar and different.

"India is in many ways westernized but of course very culturally different. It will be interesting to see how aspects of the cultural I am familiar with intersect with traditional Indian culture."

Though he knows it will be a challenge, David is excited about learning Hindi saying, "Hindi is really cool, but nothing like anything I have ever learned before."

That is exactly what the National Security Language Initiative is designed to do: give high school students access and exposure to languages and cultures that they do not normally get exposure to in the classroom. It is a part of an effort to prepare American citizens to be leaders in the global world.

Scholarships for travel are awarded in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Korean, Persian (Tajik), Russian, and Turkish. Students are placed in a location based on which language they will be learning.

The National Security Language Initiative provides both year-long and summer immersion programs.

For more information on the National Security Language Initiative >>> http://www.nsliforyouth.org/