When her college could not provide the Arabic language courses she needed, Allison Minor decided to pursue study abroad. Helped by a Boren Scholarship, the Saint Mary’s College of Maryland junior selected AMIDEAST’s new program at Mohammed V University in Rabat.

Allison gained from the solid academics in the AMIDEAST program. However, the program’s supplemental activities are what made it stand out in her view. Her homestay experience with a local family, an internship with a civil society organization, and activities designed to encourage dialogue and friendship between American and Moroccan students added to her understanding of Moroccan culture and society. “These programs were effective ways to have opportunities to practice new language skills and make those difficult first inroads to making Moroccan friends,” she noted. Upon her return from the program, Allison interned with AMIDEAST Education Abroad in Washington, DC from the summer of 2009 to the spring of 2010.

Allison’s study abroad experience helped her set new academic goals. She decided to pursue a Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies major and focused on Morocco’s civil society for her senior project, an effort benefitting from her firsthand exposure to Moroccan society. After graduating, Allison spent a year in Morocco (2010-2011) on a Fulbright Student Research Grant. Her project was on the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), a program launched by the government in 2005 encouraging a "participatory" model of development that emphasizes the role of non-governmental associations and cooperatives. Allison was interested in the effects of the INDH and the concept of participatory development generally in the Tiznit province.

After completing her research grant, Allison began a dual master's program at the University of Texas-Austin in Middle Eastern Studies and Global Policy Studies. This program will give her the opportunity to build her Arabic language skills and to further her studies on the region in general and in Morocco specifically, while also gaining professional skills. Allison notes that her experience has had a lasting, positive impact. “I have fallen in love with the constant challenge of learning and using, on a daily basis, three different languages (Modern Standard Arabic, Darija, and French). I know that I will want to continue to have this challenge in my life in the future, whatever shape my career takes.”