NA Senior Explores a Career, Learns a Language Through of Feinberg Travel Grant

When Ruqaiyyah Lucas-Caldwell ’20 was preparing to travel to Argentina on a two-week immersive learning experience, she had her trepidations. While she wanted to further explore working in hospitals, she was initially concerned that she would be doing so in a foreign land and language.
 
“I was really uncomfortable the first two days I was there because I was so insecure about my Spanish because it's not the greatest, so I was insecure about my accent,” Ruqaiyyah recently recalled. “But I realized I'm only there for two weeks and when am I ever going to get this opportunity again as a 17-year-old?”
 
Thanks to an endowed Feinberg Travel Grant at Newark Academy, Ruqaiyyah had the opportunity to move beyond her initial concerns and embrace a unique opportunity to work as an intern alongside surgeons in Argenti, sitting in to see several surgeries and procedures. Staying with a host family and three other girls that were American, Ruqaiyyah knows the travel grant was invaluable.
“I became more comfortable asking questions and just being okay with my broken Spanish because as I spoke more, my Spanish improved,” Ruqaiyyah said. “Even though it was uncomfortable for me at first, I still continued to do it.”
 
Ruqaiyyah is glad that she had the fortunate opportunity to simultaneously explore the medical field while developing her Spanish-speaking abilities. She not only saw an appendectomy and a colonoscopy up close for the first time, but also she was able to confirm her interest in pursuing a career in medicine.
 
“One thing that I really valued during that trip was the personal connections that I got with meeting some of the patients. And I think that, as I pursue a career within the medical field, I definitely want to continue that connection, having that personal connection with patients,” Ruqaiyyah said. “I'm not really sure what I want to do in that field that I want to do yet, but I still want to continue pursuing that connection. Working closely with patients is something that I want to do.”
 
The Fienberg Travel Grant was established by Newark Academy alumnus Peter Feinberg ’78, Margery Feinberg ’78, Louis Feinberg ’08 and Nathan Feinberg ’12 as part of their effort to provide NA students opportunities for broadening their cultural experiences and knowledge.  Each year a qualifying student receives $2,500 through the Feinberg Travel Grant to cover travel expenses.
 
“It's really beneficial because I know a lot of people my age and like even people older than me that don't have the opportunity to do that,” Ruqaiyyah said.
 
Abdul-Saboor Syed ’21 was named the 2020 Feinberg Travel Grant recipient after writing a compelling essay about his desire to volunteer in Vietnam with International Volunteer HQ, working in and around the city of Ho Chi Minh in a Kindergarten. This opportunity spoke to the Abdul-Saboor because he has seen a family friend struggle to learn English and adapt to the American culture after immigrating to the U.S. Additionally, he is passionate about teaching and committed to helping to guide and educate the younger generation.
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