In order to fulfill the academic requirements of his major and pursue his personal interest in the region, Jeremy Booth decided to study abroad in the Arab World. Majoring in Global Studies at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, Jeremy was required to study and volunteer abroad. During his sophomore year, he selected AMIDEAST Cairo because it “seemed like a very integrated, experience-based program that was a solid mix of academics and the ability to experience Egyptian culture.” He was accepted into AMIDEAST Cairo’s program for the 2010-2011 academic year, and spent the fall semester learning Arabic and exploring Egypt. At the end of January 2011, Jeremy was one of the AMIDEAST students evacuated from Egypt as a result of the January 25th Egyptian Revolution. He finished his studies on the AMIDEAST Jordan semester program.

He completed his university’s service requirement through a spring and summer Community-Based Learning course placement at the Jordan Investment Board, a government-funded agency that seeks to attract foreign direct investment to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. In both Egypt and Jordan, Jeremy enjoyed the program-organized excursions to locations such as the Giza Plateau, Siwa Oasis, Petra, Wadi Rum, and Jerash. He also appreciated the support of the AMIDEAST staff throughout the trying, early days of the Egyptian Revolution and the readjustment period in Amman. Jeremy writes, “My participation solidified my desire to work and live in the Middle East and continue my study of the region’s politics and language.”

Jeremy went on to say:
I became a more independent, critically-thinking, mature human being through my study abroad experience. On returning to the United States I realized how drastically my world view had changed and how I felt like a much more informed citizen of not only the United States, but the world.

Jeremy will graduate from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the spring of 2012 and plans to complete his Boren Scholarship service requirement in the near future. His long term goals include teaching English abroad, continuing to study Arabic, and returning to the Middle East.