12 FeaturesFeaturesFeatures 12 Freshman Sarah Ardeel Learns 30 Languages By Gabby Cress MANAGING EDITOR
Illuminated by the light of the computer screen, freshman Sarah Ardeel begins typing the same word over and over again in an attempt to memorize it, something she has done many times for the other 29 languages that she is attempting to learn. “A lot of people either don’t believe me or want to know more [about what I’m doing],” Ardeel said. “I wanted to [learn] as many as I could, but with the other school work that I am doing [30 languages] was a safer number.” With the use of online websites, Ardeel learns basic phrases and words in only a couple of languages each night, usually focusing on one or two. Ardeel said that the purpose of learning 30 languages is for a faithbased reason. “I am a Christian and the reason I’m doing so many now is because I want people to know that they have hope and that they are loved,” Ardeel said. “What better way to do that than telling them
in their native language and making them feel like a friend?” Ardeel has been on two mission trips outside of the country, Canada and Mexico, but has been on numerous mission trips inside of the U.S. with her church. Ardeel said that she wants to go on mission trips with the capability to speak the native language proficiently in order to share her faith with people around the world. “I guess I want to be [multilingual] first off to share my faith, and my goal is not to necessarily convert people, but I like the idea of changing people’s lives,” Ardeel said. Ardeel is already fluent in English and Spanish, but she is currently scratching the surface of Belarusian, Russian, French, Italian, Greek, Afrikaan, Spanish, Haitian, Puchani, Arabic, Armenian, Portuguese, Cebuano, Swahili, Azerbaijan, Japanese, Chinese, Okinawan, Morse, American Sign Language, Estonian, Filipino, Kannada,
PHOTO BY GABBY CRESS
Freshman Sarah Ardeel learns new languages by using repetition by rewriting and speaking a specific word out loud in order to memorize it.
Igbo, Ukrainian, Uzbek, Croatian, Kazakh, Zulu and Galacian. “Seeing so many other cultures and learning about them is also about respect,” Ardeel said. “I want to be able to genuine, but also respectful of their beliefs and culture.” Ardeel said that she would want to speak the most remote languages
because people who live in such places may not even know what Christianity is. “I would want to speak the ones that nobody else speaks because I think that there is definitely a chance that there is somebody out there who doesn’t know hope,” Ardeel said. “Picking and choosing [the languages] was more about reaching the right people.” After high school Ardeel is interested in attending Stanford University or Butler University, where she hopes to study English and the Science, Technology and Society major (STS), which is only offered at Stanford. She also has considered minoring in foreign language. “Surprisingly, I am not looking for a foreign language major,” Ardeel said. “However, in terms of schooling, I do want to keep doing foreign language.” “I want to be able to reach the unreachable and do the unthinkable and I haven’t reached that yet, but I know that I want to change people’s lives,” Ardeel said.
Senior Alec Zareb: Lord of Small Scottish Land
By Josh Muller REPORTER
It was Christmas morning in the year 2013. Senior Alec Zareb plucked a manila envelope from a pile of presents. What he saw was a collection of formal documents, Scottish gear and a single certificate sticking out from the pile. As he examined the protruding document, his eyes widened with confusion and astonishment. According to the paperwork before him, he was now a Lord in Scotland. In order to gain such a title, one must own at least a certain amount of land in Scotland. Zareb, or as he’s technically known, Lord Alec Zareb, owns enough land in Scotland to be moved up to Lordship status in the small British landmass. “I was astonished. I even asked my parents, ‘Is this real?’ Turns out, it was,” Zareb said. “The land is enough to put a tent on. Maybe six by five feet at most.” The land is located in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands, locally known as Glencoe. The village consists only of a church, a few bed and breakfasts and a FEBRUARY 2016
PHOTO BY JOSH MULLER
Above, senior Alec Zareb demonstrates his monarchial pose, as if he finally realized his goal of admiring the six by five foot area of land he calls his commonwealth and domain. Ownership of this small plot of land legally makes him a Lord in Scotland.
couple of outdoor centers and hotels. “The company who sells the land has a specific hotel next to the land you own,” Zareb said. “You can visit it whenever you want.” On most days, Zareb puts aside his royal duties to pursue more rudimentary activities. He keeps busy by working as a techie for the high school auditorium. He frequently works audio for choir and drama productions. True to his noble title, Zareb is a welltraveled individual. He has journeyed to Germany, France and Tunisia, the latter of which is home to his dad’s side of the family. He’s visited all of these places, yet never been to his own little monarchial slice of the United Kingdom. “I’ve been to Paris at least a dozen times, but I’ve never been to Scotland,” Zareb said. While Zareb is indeed proud of his prestigious title, royalty isn’t necessarily the career path the part-time theater techie has in mind. Instead, he has dreams of traveling the world and saving lives after
graduating from IUPUI with a degree in Biological Medicine. “I want to be a trauma surgeon with Doctors Without Borders,” Zareb said, after which he pondered: “Would I be called Lord Doctor or Doctor Lord?” Zareb is on the path to earning this degree by taking Emergency Medical Technician courses at the Area 31 Career Center. “We’re taught life-saving skills on a daily basis,” Zareb said. “We get to go in ambulances and visit hospitals very frequently. It’s really a lot of fun.” Even as a Lord of Scotland, Zareb rarely uses the distinguished title on formal documents such as homework and licenses, although that has not stopped him from considering to do so. “I thought about putting it on my driver’s license, because Lord is legally in my name now. But could you imagine getting pulled over by a cop and him saying, ‘Oh! Lord Zareb,’” Zareb said. “I don’t flaunt it but it’s a good conversation starter, so quite a few people do know.” PAGE DESIGN BY GABBY CRESS