Category: FLEX Alumni

  • A young woman reads to children at the newly completed library.
    Across the Globe
    By Abigail Goodman, NSLI-Y Alumna

    Perspective: Abigail in Tajikistan

    Dushanbe, Tajikistan became her second home. Her experience on the National Security Language Initiative for Youth program inspired her to open a children's library in Tajikistan, which led to an invitation to present at an international conference. She is currently a high school senior with plans to study international relations in college.
  • A close up shot of a still life painting of fruit and a vase, in color, with Nikola's signature in the corner
    Alumni Updates
    By Nikola Jeremic, FLEX alumnus

    Perspective: Nikola in Texas

    Editor's note: Nikola Jeremic traveled from Serbia to America in 2018 to spend an exchange year in Longview, Texas.

  • FLEX Hill Day
    Across the Globe
    By American Councils Editorial Staff

    FLEX Celebrates 26th Class at Capitol Hill Reception

    WASHINGTON — More than 200 exchange students celebrated on Capitol Hill last week, marking their graduation from the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program.&

  • Maria in America
    Alumni Updates
    Maria Karapetyan, FLEX alumna

    Perspective: Maria in America

    Editor's note: Maria Karapetyan arrived in Wisconsin in 2003, an exchange student on the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) progr

  • Tanya, headshot, with a seaside background
    Alumni Highlight
    By American Councils Editorial Staff

    An Enduring Friendship Through Exchange

    Caroline and Liza haven’t met yet, but the nearly two-year-olds have been destined for friendship since before they were born. Their moms, Laura Carll and Tatyana Movshevich, have helped them become pen pals, shipping care packages between London and Erie, Pennsylvania. (The toddlers are not yet ready to write their own letters, but they do enjoy remote playdates through video calls.) Nurturing their daughters' friendship was a natural next step for the moms, best friends who have known each other since Ms. Movshevich's high school exchange year in America.  Liza's mom met Caroline’s mom on her first day of high school in 2004, in Blandon, Pennsylvania, shortly after the school assembly that introduced Ms. Movshevich as an exchange student visiting from Russia.
  • Headshot of Yulia, smiling with dark blue curtains behind her
    Across the Globe
    By Yulia Bychkovska, FLEX alumna

    Meat Sandwiches, Texts, and Perfect Hugs

    Editor's note: Yulia Bychkovska spent the 2015-16 school year attending high school in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, as part of the Future Leaders E

  • Nataliya Bugayova
    Alumni Updates
    By American Councils Editorial Staff

    From Writing Bylines to Making Headlines

    Nataliya Bugayova has never let unlikely odds get in her way. It was unlikely that she would become the first female CEO of a major Ukrainian publication at 25, but she did. It was unlikely that she would be accepted to a master’s program at Harvard at 21, as an international student, but she was. In 2004, it was unlikely that she would be selected as a Future Leaders Exchange student, but she was.
  • Anush, wearing a straw hat and an olive, long sleeve button down shirt, looks off into the sunset.
    Alumni Updates
    By American Councils Editorial Staff

    The Picture of Exchange

    Long before she was on the shortlist for the Sony World Photography Award— before she ever considered becoming a professional photographer— Anush Babajanyan was an exchange student with a 35 mm film camera.