Stephen Peng ’23, a student of Dr. Hossam Elsherbiny, was named a Fulbright Scholar and will conduct research in Amman, Jordan. Stephen advanced through the Arabic program at the Center for Languages and Intercultural Communication, beginning with ARAB 141 and progressing through ARAB 302. He also attended a study abroad program in Jordan through Rice’s Study Abroad Office. While at Rice, Stephen earned the Certificate in Language and Intercultural Communication in Arabic.
With the Fulbright Scholar Award, Stephen will make use of his Arabic language skills while working with Professor Rana Dajani from Hashemite University and Dr. Omar Shamieh at the King Hussein Cancer Center in Amman. He will conduct research on psychosocial care for cancer patients at the KHCC.
Stephen decided to study Arabic at Rice because he lived in Saudi Arabia for several years but never learned more than the alphabet and basic greetings. Once he started taking Arabic classes, he found learning the language to be a “beautiful and stimulating challenge.”
“Arabic was my favorite class in college,” said Stephen. He praised Dr. Elsherbiny’s support. “I had always planned on taking a least one gap year before going to medical school and when Dr. Elsherbiny encouraged me to apply for Fulbright, I saw how great an opportunity it could be for me to be able to continue my pursuit of the Arabic language while working in a clinical setting,” Stephen explained.
Stephen also noted that a strength of CLIC’s Arabic program is that both Modern Standard Arabic and Colloquial Arabic are taught. Dr. Elsherbiny explained that Stephen’s knowledge of Colloquial Arabic allows him to interact with native speakers in a sociolinguistically appropriate way. In his recommendation letter to the Fulbright selection committee, Dr. Elsherbiny described Stephen as “a highly motivated researcher and a remarkably independent learner who would be an excellent representative of the U.S. abroad.”
Stephen next plans to apply to medical school and pursue his goal of becoming a clinician-researcher who is fluent in Arabic. “I hope that my Arabic language skills and my experience through Fulbright will enable me to provide more comprehensive and patient-centered care to Arabic-speaking individuals, promote effective communication, and foster a greater understanding of healthcare needs within a multicultural healthcare environment.”
Two other Arabic language students were named Fulbright Scholars. Angel Smith will travel to the United Arab Emirates to research climate statecraft, and Meredith McCain will continue her Arabic studies in Morocco before studying the processes of linguistic integration in Morocco via sub-Saharan African university students. Kelsey Ullom and the rest of the Center for Civic Leadership team helped the students put together strong, competitive applications that showcase their second language proficiency and allow them to connect their fields of research to their language experience.