UIUC Students Distinguish Themselves at the U.S. Universities Arab Debating Championship
UIUC students demonstrated their excellence at the 4th United States Arabic Debating Championship (USADC), hosted by QatarDebate. This annual event is dedicated to empowering young leaders and fostering open discussions on critical real-world topics such as politics, science, and ethics. This year's competition took place at the University of Utah, attracting 40 top university teams, including prestigious institutions like Duke, Harvard, and Stanford. The team's participation in this year was once again sponsored by CSAMES and supported by the U.S. Department of Education UISFL grant.
The UIUC team, composed of Shireen Aydogan (Senior, Molecular and Cellular Biology and Arabic), Amina Gurmen (Senior, Education and Arabic), Foziea Garada (Junior, Computer Science), and Hedaya Hassanein (Sophomore, Political Science, Psychology and Arabic), stood out on the national stage. Foziea, Shireen, and Hedaya earned their positions among the top 15 Arabic as a foreign language (AFL) speakers. Additionally, the UIUC AFL team achieved 4th place in the competition.
Shireen Aydogan shared her perspective on the experience, saying, "Participating in the USADC was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It allowed me to surround myself with other students in an environment where I could fine-tune my critical thinking skills and enhance my proficiency in the Arabic language."
The UIUC team is eagerly preparing for the upcoming Midwestern regional Arabic debating championship scheduled for the spring. Furthermore, they are looking forward to participating in the upcoming University Championships hosted by QatarDebate in the following years.
The Arabic program is dedicated to fostering leadership, critical thinking, and language proficiency. We expect this team to continue their impressive journey of growth and success for their future environments. The spring competetion will be hosted at UIUC campus on April 19-21, 2024.