For 62 years, Indiana high school students have spent a summer abroad thanks to the Indiana University Honors Program in Foreign Languages. Established in 1962 and running every year except two impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, this language intensive summer program has taken more than 8,700 Hoosiers to Spain, France, Austria and elsewhere during their high school years.
Students are led by a team of dedicated language instructors who are Indiana high school world language teachers, IU faculty and IU graduate students. Participants spend their time abroad taking classes, living with host families, and participating in cultural activities and excursions around their host communities and countries — all while speaking only their target language.
The impact of the Honors Program in Foreign Languages is far-reaching, beyond just the obvious improvement in language skills.
“It was truly a life changing experience that has instilled in me a confidence that I never expected to have,” said Anna H., a 2023 participant in Spain. “It has broadened my horizons to what the world is.”
Another alum who participated in an anonymous survey echoed that the program “provided me with a perspective on life that is invaluable to me. The experience I was given over that summer has led me to leadership roles, life experience and a successful career.”
The program’s director, Megan Solon, wants that impact to go further.
“Despite the program having run for 62 summers, I know there are students and teachers in Indiana who don’t know about our program and others who might think the program isn’t really for them,” she said.
Solon and program coordinator Anneliese Toumey sought an IU Foundation Affinity Giving Grant this year to help bridge the knowledge and access gap. The nearly $25,000 grant, awarded jointly by the Women’s Philanthropy Leadership Council and Black Philanthropy Circle, will increase access to the program, with a focus on reaching students from historically underrepresented or marginalized backgrounds and from rural communities.
A portion of the grant funds will be used to expand the program’s outreach to Indiana high schools. Solon and Toumey identified a set of schools with student populations that the program would like to engage with more, and they said they look forward to dedicated outreach with these schools and others this fall.
The majority of the grant funds will provide scholarships for the summer 2025 program to lower the financial barrier for applicants with the greatest need. The scholarships made available by this grant will cover a substantial portion of program fees for selected program participants, with priority going to students from the newly engaged schools. The grant will also allow staff to refine the existing recruitment, orientation and programming material.
“In addition to reaching and going out to these communities and schools, the Affinity Giving Grant will allow us to take a critical look at all of our materials to make sure that they speak to a broad audience and are designed to prepare all students for success in the program,” Solon said.
The continued education and training Solon and Toumey provide for instructors, students and families can go a long way toward making students feel like they belong, even when they’re thousands of miles away from their Indiana homes. That sense of belonging, no matter where they are, is an opportunity that Solon said every Hoosier should have access to.
Solon is not alone in this belief. Noah R., who studied Spanish in Ciudad Real, Spain, called the program “an investment in the future whose value cannot be overstated.”
“As a direct result of IUHPFL, I have made countless connections and built numerous relationships, both personally and professionally,” he said. “I am now working in an international career, where my language, travel and cultural skills are used every day. None of it would be possible without the unique IUHPFL experience.”
Solon said she hopes this IU Foundation grant is just the beginning. While the program has a few endowed scholarships it can provide each summer to students with financial need, the opportunity is entirely student-fee supported; Any supplemental financial aid offered year-to-year comes through generous donations from program alumni and other supporters. Solon said she hopes to extend the outreach and support initiated by this Affinity Giving Grant beyond the first year and encourages anyone who is passionate about the program to donate to the IU Honors Program in Foreign Language fund.
Current high school students studying Spanish, French or German can apply for the summer 2025 program Sept. 15 to Dec. 1.
