Cadet Corp. Elias Yousefi, a business senior, spent an enriching two weeks indulging in Turkish culture this summer, courtesy of the U.S. Air Force.
As a member of the Air Force ROTC, Yousefi was given the opportunity to go to Istanbul based on his qualifications and an application reviewed for merit. He was sent with 15 other cadets from across the nation, along with one officer.
"When I tell people the Air Force sent me to Turkey, they usually think (it was) for some type of training, but this program was called the Cadet Cultural Immersion Program," Yousefi said.
CCIP is a series of trips offered during the summer by the USAF. If a cadet is in school on a full-ride scholarship from the Air Force, he or she is required to attend at least one of these trips.
Professional development training trips include language lessons in the local tongue, along with sightseeing and touring.
Cadets staying in four-star accommodations woke up early, ate breakfast, attended the language lessons and, on half of the days, were also lectured by a guest speaker.
Taking those language classes brought them right up to a conversational knowledge of Turkish.
"We hit ‘functional’ probably by, like, day three," he said.
When this all ended around 11 a.m., the seniors boarded a bus and went with a tour guide to major attractions and bazaars.
"Rugs were popular," Yousefi said.
He particularly enjoyed the university they toured.
They were also shown around a tower on top of the mountain that was seven or eight stories tall.
"It’s like secluded on top of a hill," he said.
Speakers covered topics such as climate change and European Union inclusion, as Turkish elections had just occurred. The nation is very secular, but has a rich history dominated by Christian and Muslim influence, which can complicate ideals and politics. Yousefi said he also found the influence of major pharmaceutical companies to be greater than he’d expected, with GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer very active in the country.
Other trips available included Morocco, South Africa, India, the Czech Republic and Brazil. Ninety-six total seniors were sent nationwide from 144 Air Force ROTC posts.
Cadet Fourth Class Ashley Thompson, an architecture sophomore at Rice University, was also sent to Japan as part of her scholarship agreement. Any individual on a full-ride scholarship from the Air Force is expected to go on a professional development training trip. Thompson was allowed to fly a trainer jet to Japan as part of the experience.
"It was a very broadening experience," Yousefi said.
