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Kaylee Boalt, Converse student, finds interest in Saudi culture | GoUpstate.com
Kaylee Boalt didn't care for politics and knew little of the Middle East when she came to Converse College as a starry-eyed mezzo soprano more than three years ago.
Boalt, who is from Greer, was going to be an opera singer.
But a trip overseas helped the 21-year-old Boalt find a new love with a new culture. And this summer, the Greer-native is living in New York City at her own expense to help Arab people become U.S. citizens.
For the last month, Boalt has lived at the 92nd Street YMCA in Manhattan while taking night classes at nearby Bard College and working part time at the Arab-American Family Support Center in Brooklyn.
Her efforts include teaching English as a second language classes for recent immigrants and tutoring Arab men and women to prepare them for their U.S. citizenship tests.
It's work that Boalt would have hardly considered when she arrived on Converse's campus.
It was the furthest thing from my mind, she said.
Boalt's love of the Middle East began when she was convinced to join Converse's Model Arab League.
Joe Dunn, a Converse professor and chair of the political science and history department, did all he could to persuade Boalt to join the team, even extending a second chance after Boalt originally decided not to try out for the team.
Now Dunn, who helped Boalt find the New York internship, is heaping high praise on his pupil.
I've been doing this for 25 years, and she could well be the best student I've ever had, Dunn said. She's an incredible debater. She has a personality and style about her that dominates a room.
Last April, Boalt acted as a delegate for Oman at the National Model Arab League at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Her delegation took first place and she earned an honorable mention, according to school officials.
That performance helped propel her to Saudi Arabia for a 10-day stay at the end of last year, when she visited the Saudi cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.
I just fell in love with the culture, fell in love with the region, she said.
While traveling, countless Saudis embraced her and her fellow tourists with open arms, Boalt said.
You think you know Southern hospitality? she said. But Arabs they're such a gracious and generous people. It was fantastic.
When she returned, she wrote an article on terrorist attitudes and anti-Americanism for a newsletter for the Carolinas Committee on U.S.-Arab Relations.
That trip is also helping her relate to her students this summer, many of whom are from Saudi Arabia or nearby Yemen.
I learned a few words and they love it, she said of her students. We have a shared experience.
That experience has also helped Boalt re-aim her career goals.
The program this summer is so important to her, Dunn said, It'll open up opportunities for her to see what's next. The problem with somebody who's so multitalented, what do you do? She's beginning to see some directions.
Boalt said she still wants to sing, but that's taken a backseat to interests in Middle Eastern politics, Islamic feminism and women's rights.
Now, she looks to go to graduate school and eventually become a political analyst or something similar.
In the meantime, Boalt is staying busy at Converse, where she expects to graduate next summer with degrees in political science and music.
In addition to the school's Model Arab League team, she sang in last winter's school production of the opera Hansel & Gretel and is an award-winning debater. She's also a member of the Spartanburg Festival Chorus.
I love staying busy, she said.
Kaylee Boalt didn't care for politics and knew little of the Middle East when she came to Converse College as a starry-eyed mezzo soprano more than three years ago.
Boalt, who is from Greer, was going to be an opera singer.
But a trip overseas helped the 21-year-old Boalt find a new love with a new culture. And this summer, the Greer-native is living in New York City at her own expense to help Arab people become U.S. citizens.
For the last month, Boalt has lived at the 92nd Street YMCA in Manhattan while taking night classes at nearby Bard College and working part time at the Arab-American Family Support Center in Brooklyn.
Her efforts include teaching English as a second language classes for recent immigrants and tutoring Arab men and women to prepare them for their U.S. citizenship tests.
It's work that Boalt would have hardly considered when she arrived on Converse's campus.
It was the furthest thing from my mind, she said.
Boalt's love of the Middle East began when she was convinced to join Converse's Model Arab League.
Joe Dunn, a Converse professor and chair of the political science and history department, did all he could to persuade Boalt to join the team, even extending a second chance after Boalt originally decided not to try out for the team.
Now Dunn, who helped Boalt find the New York internship, is heaping high praise on his pupil.
I've been doing this for 25 years, and she could well be the best student I've ever had, Dunn said. She's an incredible debater. She has a personality and style about her that dominates a room.
Last April, Boalt acted as a delegate for Oman at the National Model Arab League at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Her delegation took first place and she earned an honorable mention, according to school officials.
That performance helped propel her to Saudi Arabia for a 10-day stay at the end of last year, when she visited the Saudi cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.
I just fell in love with the culture, fell in love with the region, she said.
While traveling, countless Saudis embraced her and her fellow tourists with open arms, Boalt said.
You think you know Southern hospitality? she said. But Arabs they're such a gracious and generous people. It was fantastic.
When she returned, she wrote an article on terrorist attitudes and anti-Americanism for a newsletter for the Carolinas Committee on U.S.-Arab Relations.
That trip is also helping her relate to her students this summer, many of whom are from Saudi Arabia or nearby Yemen.
I learned a few words and they love it, she said of her students. We have a shared experience.
That experience has also helped Boalt re-aim her career goals.
The program this summer is so important to her, Dunn said, It'll open up opportunities for her to see what's next. The problem with somebody who's so multitalented, what do you do? She's beginning to see some directions.
Boalt said she still wants to sing, but that's taken a backseat to interests in Middle Eastern politics, Islamic feminism and women's rights.
Now, she looks to go to graduate school and eventually become a political analyst or something similar.
In the meantime, Boalt is staying busy at Converse, where she expects to graduate next summer with degrees in political science and music.
In addition to the school's Model Arab League team, she sang in last winter's school production of the opera Hansel & Gretel and is an award-winning debater. She's also a member of the Spartanburg Festival Chorus.
I love staying busy, she said.
KSA's culture is totally different from the rest of the Arab world culture, let alone none Arab nations 
