While most students wait until college before participating in foreign exchange programs, there are ways for high school students to take advantage of travel opportunities. Senior Elijah (EJ) Novak optimized on this by spending his junior year in Turkey through the government program YES Abroad.
“The US government paid for me to go to school over there, live with my host family over there, and just be an active part of Turkish culture while I was over there,” explained Novak.
The YES Abroad program is one of many organizations that provide chances to experience life in other countries. It offers students the opportunity to live with a host family and attend a public school in a variety of countries including Bulgaria, Ghana, Malaysia, North Macedonia and Thailand. Students are completely immersed in the culture of the countries they visit.
But it is not easy to get accepted into the YES Abroad program. Applicants must complete a merit-based application, an interview and an English proficiency test to be part of the 3% accepted into the program.
“It is a long application process. It goes in three different shifts. The first one is about a twenty page application, including writing an essay. By December, you get sent a letter to find out if you’re a semifinalist. If you’re a semifinalist, you have to send in more paperwork, mostly medical forms. By March, you get your finalist or secondary choice opportunity. For me, I was not directly into the program, I was a secondary choice and the person in front of me dropped out so I got the opportunity to go to Turkey,” described Novak.
This long process requires motivated applicants who care about getting accepted into the program. “I moved to [Pleasant Valley] my sophomore year. Right when I moved here, I told my mother I was interested in this program. My interest came because I have this desire to travel and to experience different cultures and different perspectives for myself. I saw a study abroad opportunity like this as a great way to see life outside of the Midwest,” said Novak.
Studying abroad serves many purposes for people. It lets them participate in unique experiences, meet new people, overcome hardships and discover their passions.
“I love history, I love ancient Rome and I love ancient Greece and to see their temples and statues was like a dream of mine and to me that was absolutely phenomenal and it was even more special because I got to experience it with my host family as the experience helped to bring us together,” Novak said.
Participants also get to experience being part of new communities.
“[My host family’s] hospitality was so amazing that the personal effect it had on me will be something that I hold in my for the rest of my life as a standard for what it means to be a host,” said Novak. “They accepted me with open arms and my host mother became almost like a guide in my life, and when I didn’t understand the cultural aspects I could always lean back on my host family to help me.”
Studying abroad, especially in high school, can prove to be a challenge for many. The language barrier and joining a new culture are two of many stressful situations faced by Novak.
“It’s difficult trying to build relationships and friendships with a language difference, and it’s significantly difficult to speak because what you say may be something that doesn’t translate quite right, it’s very difficult to do but also like the basic things are difficult,” Novak explained.
“During my time in Turkey one word and another are very similar. The word ‘F you’ is very similar to ‘I’m bored.’ I was trying to tell my teacher that, because I didn’t speak enough Turkish to actively participate in class at the time, I was bored and would like to go to the library to pick up a book. Unfortunately, I didn’t say that, I accidently said ‘F you.’ That is one of the small things I had to deal with while I was there. It’s the small things that you’re not always aware of that you have to get around,” Novak said.
Novak has no regrets about choosing to spend his year in Turkey.
“There’s not a doubt in my mind that I want to go to Turkey again. My time there was so critical to my own personal growth but just the experience I had was just a wonderful lifetime experience and for me this really inspired me to go into what I want to do in life— International Relations,” he said.
The trip does have an impact on the life of the students once they get back home. “You feel like you miss certain events so you just try to rebuild those relationships that you were absent from for the year,” commented Novak.
EJ’s trip can inspire others to partake in the programs as well. “Yes, I would consider participating in a similar program like [EJ] did. I feel like it is important to branch out and see the other sides of the world and different cultures,” Zechariah Novak, EJ’s brother, said.
Participating in study abroad programs is available to students even while they are in high school. While students may be nervous to participate in the programs and spending a year in an unfamiliar place, they can be rewarding experiences. Learn more about the program and the available opportunities here.
