During March, ETA Anna Misenti and her co-teacher, Pak Jecson, assisted six highly motivated 10th grade students in editing and submitting applications for the YES program. YES is a scholarship program funded through the US Congress for high school students from Muslim majority countries to spend an academic year studying at an American high school and living with a homestay family.

The application is fairly extensive and includes essays in both English and bahasa Indonesia, along with three letters of recommendation, an example of extracurricular involvement, and various documents.

After a month of waiting, four of Anna’s students texted her to share that they had been selected to interview for the second round of the application process. Sharing in her student’s early success in this process and seeing their excitement to pursue exchange opportunities was a very rewarding experience, and she is looking forward to helping them prepare for their interviews in May. Whether or not her students are ultimately selected for this competitive scholarship, she hopes better understanding the application and interview process will give them the confidence to pursue even more opportunities for cultural exchange and international education in the future.

Anna Misenti is currently teaching at SMAN 1 Padangsidimpuan, North Sumatra