Junior Anezka Boyle’s passion for studying foreign languages and culture has inspired her to take a trip to Turkey this upcoming summer. She recently received a scholarship from the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) to be able to learn the Turkish language. This program gives high school students across the globe an opportunity to travel abroad and immerse themselves in culture and language. Boyle learned of the NSLI-Y from her father, who works at Pitzer college, and was immediately interested in the program.

“The program is a state-funded scholarship organization that sends teenagers from America to foreign countries that the U.S. has had prior conflicts with and learn the languages there,” Boyle said. “Right now, there’s this whole stigma of us being really distanced from countries like that, and I’m trying to overcome that barrier.”

Boyle has been involved with other, similar programs before, such as a three-week camp that let her and other students travel to Germany and become comfortable with the language. Learning new languages is Boyle’s passion, which is what led her to the NSLI-Y program. She is currently taking Spanish and German, her favorite subjects, at CHS. Boyle is on her way to becoming fluent in German especially because she lived in Germany for about a year when she was in sixth grade. However, her passion for international cultures does not extend solely to Germany.

“I’m also thinking of learning languages that aren’t European-centric, maybe something like Chinese,” Boyle said.

Boyle’s love for languages was introduced by her family. Both of her parents grew up in Europe and her mother is fluent in six languages. Boyle’s mother is German, while her father is Irish and lived in England during his childhood. However, both of Boyle’s parents have lived in America for over 25 years. Boyle believes that it is important to be able to communicate with all kinds of people, something her parents taught her at a young age.

In Turkey, Boyle will stay with a host family, where she plans to learn Turkish and appreciate Muslim traditions and aspects of the culture. In college, Boyle hopes to take many more trips abroad through study-abroad programs. She is also considering living in a foreign country when she is older to fully immerse herself in a new, exciting culture.

Boyle has a deep passion for learning languages and travelling overseas, and will enjoy her time learning new languages in future years. Boyle is excited and grateful for being awarded the NSLI-Y scholarship and hopes to enjoy her trip traveling abroad to Turkey to experience a new culture.