MELC student Anaëlle Enders, who is minoring in Arabic, has been chosen as a UW President's Medalist for 2021–22. Three undergraduates each year are selected for this prestigious award. Congratulations, Anaëlle!
The Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs reports:
The three medalists will be recognized by University President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Mark Richards at a special reception, where each recipient will receive their medal in front of family, friends and mentors.
Learning Arabic on her own in 2020 prepared Anaëlle Enders for a six-month, pre-college internship in Morocco, where she used the language daily. This gap-year experience in the country sparked Enders’ desire to keep studying Arabic when she began her studies at the UW — and the subject eventually became her minor.
Working with local youth in Agadir, Morocco, also helped Enders narrow down her interests and land on a major at the UW. “I witnessed how education can transform communities,” Enders says, adding that she chose the education, communities and organizations major because it pairs her “love of community engagement with social justice and learning.”
In the future, Enders hopes to find a career working for organizations involved in education reform, art therapy or both. She adds: “I would love to use my Arabic minor to communicate with people in their own language.”
For Enders, who grew up in Seattle, the UW was the best choice both financially and academically. Two years into her Husky journey, she feels an even greater sense of belonging through the honors program and her faith community. “Both communities push me to ask deeper questions about myself and the world,” Enders says. “I feel like this is where I’m supposed to be.”
Outside the classroom, Enders is a member of the Sayaw Filipino Folk Dance Troupe and interns at Urban Impact, a Seattle-based nonprofit. You can also find her designing and printing stickers at UW makerspaces — or trying new foods with her friends.