The Arabic and Islamic Studies Program is excited to share that Arabic and Islamic Studies minor Malachi Aklilu has won a prestigious Critical Language Scholarship to study Turkish!
According to IU News: Malachi Aklilu, a first-year student from Whitestown, Indiana, who plans to major in political science with a minor in Arabic and Islamic studies, won a Critical Language Scholarship to study Turkish. He will spend the summer in Turkey learning the language, living with a host family and exploring the culture.
He had no connection to Turkey and knew little about the country until he participated in the YES Abroad program as a high school senior. Aklilu had hoped that study-abroad program would send him to an Arabic-speaking country, but he was selected to go to Turkey. He describes the match as random but transformative.
“It really opened up my eyes,” he said. “What I learned by living there nine months felt equivalent to three years of learning in school.
“I had zero language skills in Turkish before I went there. Just asking for directions, ordering food, meeting new people — everything was so much harder. The experience had a big impact on me, because being back in the U.S., daily tasks and even just speaking is so much easier. I used to be very introverted, and the experience helped me develop as a person.”
The Critical Language Scholarship is funded by the U.S. Department of State. It provides immersive summer programs for American students to learn languages of strategic importance to national security, economic prosperity and global engagement.
Aklilu ultimately wants to be a Foreign Service officer and work as a diplomat.
