Perimeter Dual Enrollment Student Travels to Jordan as Part of National Security Language Initiative

COVINGTON, Ga.-- She's ridden a camel in the desert at sunrise, visited a historic monument carved in the side of a mountain, traveled to the Dead Sea—and learned Arabic.  For Mandy Yang, a Georgia State Perimeter College online dual enrollment student, this has been the summer of her young lifetime.

For seven weeks, the Lambert High School rising senior participated in the U.S. State Department-sponsored National Security Language Initiative for Youth  (NSLI-Y) in Amman, Jordan taking Arabic classes at the Qasid Arabic Institute while immersing herself in the country’s culture, food and sights. Yang received a scholarship and is one of just 15 American high school students selected for the study abroad language program. She lived with a host family during her time in the country.

Yang points to the influence of her Perimeter College online Global Issues class with Newton Campus political science instructor Barbara Robertson, as her inspiration for applying for the scholarship and trip. “Global Issues was the first class I took at Georgia State Perimeter, and your class has made a deep impact on me ever since,” she told Robertson in a letter. “I’m now interested in going into global affairs in the future with a discipline in economics focusing on underrepresented regions.”

Attending the NSLI-Y program in Jordan has strengthened her desire to work in global issues, she said. “I’m very excited for this opportunity to learn Arabic and to open myself to the nuance and complexity of cross-cultural exchange and to deepen my knowledge of one of the most politically complex areas in the world,” she said. “This program will help me establish a good lingual and cultural understanding in Arabic and getting a first-hand glimpse of foreign service at a young age will help me tremendously later.”

Yang has been a Perimeter College online dual enrollment student since her sophomore year in high school. “I have taken Global Issues, Intro to Social Problems, Global Economics and plan to take more social science courses in following semesters, she said. “As a dual enrollment student, I appreciate the opportunity which allows high school students like me to enroll in college courses and explore different areas of study before I become a full-time college student.”

Story by Rebecca Rakoczy