Ariana Burks

One of the best decisions that I have made during my undergraduate experience was applying for the Critical Language Scholarship. I was given the opportunity to be a part of an intense language immersion program and live in Oman for two months. I was only allowed to speak in Arabic which gave me deeper insight into the culture and local residents were extremely welcoming to my Arabic learning journey. Exploring Omani culture was unique because it is reserved and Omani homelife is typically only something that close family members are a part of. I am currently double majoring in international studies and geography and Oman helped me explore so many topics that I had learned in class in real life. Oman's distinctive geographical features were amazing to explore because I was able to see how people who lived near mountains and people who lived near the Ocean conducted their daily lives differently. I was able to build a mutual understanding between those living in the mountains and to my Appalachian culture almost seamlessly and I found that experience to be one of my favorites. 

I also believe that this experience would have not been available to me without the access to world languages and more importantly the Arabic Studies department. As a biracial woman from Southern West Virginia learning Arabic was not something that I had ever dreamed to be easily accessible. I was only able to increase my fluency by taking undergraduate language classes and then by applying my skills in an Arabic speaking country with this nationally competitive scholarship.