Parker student to study Arabic in Jordan

Parker student to study Arabic in Jordan

Parker School junior Maia Tarnas has been awarded one of approximately 625 National Security Language Initiative for Youth scholarships for 2013-14. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of State and provides merit-based scholarships for eligible high school students to learn less-commonly taught languages in summer and academic year overseas immersion programs. The program offers study opportunities in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Persian, Russian and Turkish.

Tarnas will study Arabic in Amman, Jordan, this summer. Her scholarship covers all program costs, including travel, tuition and related academic preparation, language testing, educational and cultural activities and accommodations. For the first three weeks, Tarnas will live with a host family; she will share an apartment with other students for the final four weeks of the program.

Tarnas, whose mother grew up in Lebanon, said she is “very humbled and excited to have received this scholarship. It is an opportunity of a lifetime to be able to live, learn and be completely immersed in a culture so interesting and different from our own.”

For more information, visit nsliforyouth.org. For more about U.S. Department of State-sponsored exchange programs visit exchanges.state.gov. For more about Parker, visit parkerschool.net.