Benjamin Chebaa poses with camels while visiting Morocco. Chebaa will study Arabic in Oman this summer.Â

ACC student Benjamin Chebaa, an Arabic major, was recently awarded a U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship to study the language in the Middle Eastern country Oman.

Chebaa is one of about 600 U.S. undergraduate and graduate students who received a Critical Language Scholarship. Participants will spend seven to ten weeks studying at intensive language institutes located in 13 countries. The goal of the program is to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages.

Chebaa first became interested in learning Arabic when he was 19 years old, after his father passed away. With an urge to travel the world, Chebaa and his grandmother spent a summer in Morocco, where his father was born.

“I originally learned the language so I could communicate with more of my family members,” Chebaa says. “Now I want to use what I’ve learned to help as many people as possible. This opportunity to study in another country will be a great way for me to continue improving my skills.”

After attending an orientation in Washington D.C., Chebaa will leave for Oman on June 5. He will spend two months studying at the Noor Majan Training Institute in Ibri, Oman. Once his education is complete, he hopes to work for an international humanitarian group.

“Everyone at ACC was so helpful and went beyond and above what I expected,” Chebaa says. “I came to school after going through some tough times, and ACC gave me hope.”

For more information on the Critical Language Scholarship Program, visit www.clscholarship.org.