LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - Army ROTC Cadet Brandon Michael Wilson, a sophomore at Lock Haven University, has been selected for participation in the U.S. Army Cadet Command 2009 Cadet Culture and Language Immersion Internship in Morocco. In this program, he will study Arabic, a language he began while a freshman at LHU.

Wilson began learning Arabic at LHU in preparation for an “alternate spring break” in Morocco during his freshman year. He studied under Basma Mattar, a Fulbright Scholar from Bahrain. Wilson says, I never thought I’d be interested in learning Arabic.” However, he applied for the MountainServe Center for Global Citizenship's alternative spring break to Morocco, and as soon as he was accepted, he began to study Arabic. He says he has been “fascinated by it ever since.” He currently takes Arabic classes from Reem Al Fayez, a Fulbright Scholar from Jordan.

Wilson says he “loves learning about other cultures” and is “very interested in helping third world countries.” He praises his MountainServe experience in Morocco for enabling him to connect directly with Moroccan children. The purpose of the MountainServe trip was to run a health clinic in a remote mountain village, where the residents have little or no access to health care. Wilson says, “Since I was only a freshman, I couldn’t do a whole lot in the clinic. Most of the time I played with the children, playing soccer and teaching them American football and games such as duck-duck-goose.”

Anne-Marie Turnage, director of LHU's Mountainserve Center for Global Citizenship, commented on Wilson's selection for the Morocco internship. She stated, "I am very pleased that Brandon Wilson was accepted for this program. His selection further demonstrates how international service-learning programs open many doors of opportunity for a student academically and professionally."

Wilson’s Morocco internship is scheduled for May 9 to June 4, 2009. He must report to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY on May 9.

A Health Science Pre-PA/Pre-Med major, Wilson is planning for a career in medicine. “I want to become a doctor,” he said, “and LHU’s Pre-PA program is giving me a great foundation.”

Wilson is the son of William and Loeda Wilson of Springville.