This past summer Luke Guleserian ’24, embarked on a 7-week trip to Kazakhstan. He first became interested in the trip after an email from Ms. Zener advertised this opportunity to learn a new language in a foreign country. The National Security Language Initiative for Youth is a State-Department-sponsored program with the goal of educating youth on languages critical to American foreign policy. Around 450 students, each learning one of 10 languages, participated in the program this year. When he applied, Luke had little experience in speaking or reading Russian (besides a summer of Zoom classes through the same program in Russian), but had always had a fascination with the language. This, combined with his interest in the Russian region’s complex history and culture, eagerness to travel the world, and excitement to meet new people who shared similar interests, made Luke a perfect candidate for the trip.
After his acceptance, Luke traveled to Washington, D.C. for orientation in the last week of June. There were a total of 15 other students in his group ranging from a freshman at Ohio State to a junior from local Oklahoma. When the group finally arrived in Kazakhstan, they were greeted by beautiful landscapes and friendly people (many of whom had never met an American before). During Luke’s 7-week stay, he attended Russian classes from 9 AM to 12 PM every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. In the afternoons, Luke immersed himself in various cultural clubs like the Music Club and the Movie Club. Every Tuesday, the group went on smaller excursions in the city to venues like the Museum of Musical Instruments or a soviet war museum. On Saturdays, they went on grander excursions out of the city to various National parks and other cultural landmarks. On one occasion, Luke made a Belmont Hill oar on a rug made of sheep wool which he still has.
Although this trip was the longest he had ever been away from home and contained countless hours of studying and practicing, Luke claims he would do it again in a heartbeat. At the end of the trip, he was evaluated by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) to be on the high end of intermediate in Russian, a tremendous accomplishment in such a short amount of time. He is continuing to study the language with a private tutor outside of school and plans to keep taking classes when in college. Luke vigorously recommends this program “for anyone who wants to reach outside their comfort zone and explore the world.”
