Student Stories

Celebrating Our Student Journeys

Step into the diverse and enriching experiences of students involved in iEARN-USA, NSLI-Y, and YES programs through our collection of compelling stories. These narratives capture the profound impact of international exchange, language learning, and cultural immersion on young minds from around the world. From forging lifelong friendships to gaining new perspectives on global issues, each story reflects the transformative power of these programs in shaping compassionate and globally-minded individuals.Ā 

Caroline Gao’s Transformative Cultural Exchange Experience

Caroline Gao’s Transformative Cultural Exchange Experience

Caroline Gao participated in NSLI-Y's summer program in South Korea in 2021, as the world was slowly emerging from isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic . Her cohort was one of the first to return to in-person exchanges, though it required an extensive period of quarantining alone in a hotel room before stepping foot outside into Korean society. She spoke about how the program has impacted her life, helped shape her values, and develop important interpersonal skills.
iEARN Stewards of the Earth and Water

iEARN Stewards of the Earth and Water

The following reflection was written by Flynn and Alyna, sixth-grade students in iEARN-USA Educator Greg ReivaĆ¢ā‚¬ā„¢s Science Earth Science class at St. Thomas the Apostle School in Illinois, U.S. They reflect on their classĆ¢ā‚¬ā„¢s participation in the iEARN Earth Stewardship and Water is Life projects, as well as the impact of COVID-19 on them and their communities.
The Power of Blended Exchange

The Power of Blended Exchange

Imagine having the opportunity to travel to Morocco as a high school senior, along with your fellow students and teachers, to meet your Moroccan peers with whom you had talked with on video conference every two weeks for the past year. In the spring of 2019, 24 high school seniors accompanied by four of their teachers from Ithaca High School in Ithaca, NY, a small city in upstate New York, took such a trip as a culminating event following their virtual exchange experience participating in iEARNĆ¢ā‚¬ā„¢s Ć¢ā‚¬Å“My Identity, Your IdentityĆ¢ā‚¬Ā project.

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