Two public school students in Hawaii have won U.S. State Department scholarships to study Arabic in Morocco for a year as part of an initiative designed to help Americans learn strategically important languages.
Preston Davis, who just graduated from Campbell High School in Ewa Beach, and Cody Benbow, a 2013 graduate of Kealakehe High School in Kailua-Kona, were selected for yearlong National Security Language Initiative for Youth scholarships in the Arabic language.
The scholarships cover all their costs, including travel, tuition, cultural activities and accommodations, mostly with a host family. The language initiative, begun in 2006, gives outstanding U.S. high school students a chance to learn Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Persian, Russian and Turkish while living overseas.
“It’s going to be awesome,” said Davis, who has been working two part-time jobs while going to school. “I’m Korean-Filipino. I think it’s really important that people release stereotypes. There are a lot of misconceptions about Middle Eastern people.”
Both students had some exposure to Arabic already. As a junior, Davis began taking an after-school course at Campbell in leadership and Arabic language, offered by the Pacific and Asian Affairs Council of Honolulu and OneWorldNow! of Seattle. Benbow attended an Arabic language camp at the University of Hawaii at Manoa sponsored by both nonprofits.
PAAC provides international education programs to public school students in Hawaii through classes, clubs and trips. OneWorldNow! works with youth who normally would not have a chance to study abroad.
Benbow, who will attend Syracuse University after his year abroad, aspires to be a diplomat.
“After attending an Arabic camp at UH Manoa, I became deeply fascinated by the language and the culture,” he wrote in an email. “Studying abroad enables me to both learn the language of the people and experience the beautiful culture of Morocco firsthand and unbiasedly.”
Hawaii students who received shorter-term National Security Language scholarships to spend the summer abroad include Maia Tarnas of Parker School on Hawaii island, who will study Arabic in Amman, Jordan; Claire Steinemann of Punahou, who is going to Oman to study Arabic; Samantha Okabe of Island Pacific Academy, who will study Korean in South Korea; and Christine Nguyen of Sacred Hearts Academy in Honolulu and Madeline St. John of Le Jardin Academy in Kailua, who both will study Chinese in China.
For information on State Department exchange programs, visit www.exchanges.state.gov.
