Limited VolunteerSince 1959, the Olmsted Scholar Program has challenged young military officers to learn a foreign language and pursue graduate studies in that language at a foreign university. This two-and-a-half to three year program is a life-changing experience for Scholars and their families. Many describe it as the best time of their lives.
The life-changing experience comes from the cultural immersion, especially with families, managing every aspect of daily life, from housing to children’s schooling. Living as aliens delivers two years of constant surprises. Scholars remember “being thrown into the deep end of the pool” but then rising to the surface and thriving. The experience develops a new kind of confidence that stays with them, a readiness to “take on anything” that never goes away.