Cason Dean ’26 has been named a recipient of the U.S. Department of State’s National Security Language Institute for Youth (NSLI‑Y) scholarship, a fully funded program to study Mandarin in Taiwan for seven weeks.

NSLI‑Y, a program of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), promotes the study of Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Persian (Tajiki), Russian, or Turkish.

Cason was one of 440 students selected for the NSLI‑Y scholarship from a national pool of thousands of U.S. high school applicants. While in Taiwan, Cason will live with a host family, immerse in the local culture and host community, and engage with local peers to enhance language learning, and represent American culture as a citizen ambassador.

Launched in 2006 as part of a multi-agency U.S. Government initiative, NSLI‑Y increases the number of young Americans with the critical language skills necessary to contribute to U.S national security and economic competitiveness. NSLI‑Y is administered by American Councils for International Education in cooperation with AFS‑USA, American Cultural Exchange Service, Amideast, iEARN‑USA, Stony Brook University, and the University of Delaware.

“We are so excited for and proud of Cason. This trip will be a terrific experience that will improve his already-strong cross-cultural communication leadership skills, while building on Mandarin studies. At RCDS, we believe in the transformative power of immersive experiential education like this, and we are so delighted that Cason was selected for a NSLI‑Y scholarship. It is a well-deserved recognition for a very fine student.” — Peter Quagliaroli, Upper School Principal