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Why I Applied for the YES Program
August 25, 2019
By Zhuliyan Zhelyazkov, YES Bulgaria '19 It was October, 2018 when I first learned something about the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Program. I saw an online invitation to apply for this exchange program which said something like “If you are in 9th or 10th grade apply for YES Scholarship ...
Why I applied for YES program and my American dream
August 25, 2019
By Maria Ivanova, YES Bulgaria '19 Why I applied for YES program? I am interested in American culture and American people. The prospect of studying in a different country will give me a great chance to understand the host society and their true everyday life at first hand. And ...
Why everyone should apply and what was most challenging for me during the YES competition
August 25, 2019
By Zhanita Hristova, YES Bulgaria '19 "Right now, being a finalist, my goal which I worked for hard is finally reached . However, I still remember the time around one year ago when I was still unsure and being a finalist on YES seemed to me as a dream that ...
American Councils Names Dr. David Patton as its Next President and CEO
August 16, 2019
AUGUST 15, 2019 WASHINGTON — American Councils for International Education and its Board of Trustees are pleased to announce the appointment of David Patton, PhD, as the third president and CEO to lead the 45-year-old nonprofit. Dr. Patton’s tenure as president began on August 1, 2019. For the past five months, Dr. Patton has served ...
Why Everyone Should Apply for the YES Competition
August 15, 2019
By Zhenya Marcheva, YES Bulgaria '19 The biggest advantage of the YES program is that it enables you to use YOUR best tools in cooperating with other people. You don't have to speak perfect English or be athletic. The traits you need to have for the program are ones every ...
BLI alumna reunites with host family
July 16, 2019
It's nice to hear when our program alumni stay in touch with their host families and when they reunite. Alexandra Karppi, Balkan Language Initiative alumna, while spending part of her academic year in Budapest, Hungary, decided to visit her host family in Belgrade this spring. Alexandra Karppi met with her ...
Grace with us
May 31, 2019
By Julia Georgieva, Host mother YES Abroad program Sofia, Bulgaria I met Grace for the first time at Sofia airport. Before that moment we haven’t had any kind of communication. I was very worried, probably she felt the same. I did not know what to expect. I applied for YES ...
SPARKING DIALOGUE THROUGH POETRY
May 27, 2019
By Behar Bunjaku, YES 2017-2018, Kosovo, hosted by CIEE in Palestine, TX On March 27, 2019, YES alumni from Kosova organized the fourth edition of Kosovo Slam Poetry at the Institute of History in Prishtina, Kosovo. Nine young poets performed their spoken poetry in front of a live audience of ...
Landmarks
May 21, 2019
By Joey Johnson YES abroad Bulgaria '18 Today I passed by Roman ruins on my way into the metro. Nine months ago I would never have been able to walk past them without pausing. Anyone who knows me can tell you history is a passion of mine, and it’s one ...
The 2019 IDEAL Workshop
From March 29 to April 2, 2019, 65 FLEX and YES alumni from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia gathered in Vrsac, Serbia, for the third annual IDEAL Workshop. The workshop consisted of two distinct but intermingled programs, one for 51 “junior” alumni of generations 2015-2018 ...