I got into the CLS Program!!

Hello Everyone! I have great news to share with you all this week. I found out on Thursday that I was selected as a finalist for the U.S. Department of State 2020 Critical Language Scholarship Program in Tangier Morocco. I can not express how happy I am to be a part of this program. It is truly a life-changing opportunity that enables me to continue my Arabic studies in Morocco this summer before I go back to school at the University of Nevada, Reno in the fall. The program is a fully-funded intensive overseas Arabic language program located at the Arab American Language Institute in Morocco.

While in Tangier, I will be taking 20 hours of formal language instruction (16 in Modern Standard Arabic and 4 in Darija the local dialect). I will be living with a host family which will allow me to experience life in a Moroccan family and practice Arabic outside of class. Additionally, I will have a language partner and participate in weekly cultural classes, activities, and excursions to explore the cultural heritage of Morocco. My favorite aspect of the program is the mandatory language pledge that I will take to only speak in Arabic during my time in Tangier.

The CLS program will start on June 18th in Washington D.C where we will have a 3-day orientation before we leave as a group to Morocco on June 20th. My program in Israel ends on June 4th, so I plan to go back home to Vegas and Minnesota to spend time with my family during the two weeks in between both of these study abroad programs. I am looking forward to seeing my family as it will have been almost a year since I have seen them by this point. After the CLS program ends on August 14th, I will return to Reno to finish out my senior year of college. Upon my return to Reno, I plan to apply for graduate schools in pursuit of a Master’s degree relating to Arabic and Islamic Studies. I believe that my combined experience of learning Arabic in Israel and Morocco will make me a competitive candidate for graduate school at Columbia, Harvard, Yale or Georgetown. I would like to thank you all for reading this week!