UA Little Rock student visits Qatar on international fellowship

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student will share her knowledge of the government and culture of the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar after being selected for a prestigious international fellowship that included a diplomatic visit to Qatar.

Mariam Bouzihay, a UA Little Rock junior psychology student from Jonesboro, was one of 10 U.S. college students selected for the Joseph J. Malone Fellowship in Arab and Islamic Studies cultural immersion program to Qatar, a peninsula nation with a population of 2.6 million that borders Saudi Arabia to the south and is surrounded by the Persian Gulf on all other sides.

"The whole point of the program is to expose people to different countries," Bouzihay said. "There are many stereotypes about the countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. Last spring, I got to represent Qatar in the Model Arab League, and then I got to experience Qatar in real life. It was an amazing experience."