Philip Weed

For 15 years, Philip Weed served as an Arabic linguist for the U.S. Air Force. Twice, the military sent him to the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, California, to become proficient in the language.

Now, the 46-year-old resident of Talmo, Georgia, has earned a bachelor's degree in the language he used as an active-duty enlisted man and later a government contractor.

"Before my son started high school, I realized I finally had time to earn my degree," Weed said. "When I found out that UNG had an Arabic program, I thought it would be a great fit."

Since enrolling at UNG in 2018, Weed steadily worked on his degree and at his full-time job in loss prevention for Kohl's.

"The running joke is I want to get my bachelor's degree before my daughter does," Weed said. "I'm slow and like to take all kinds of classes, but I may finish before her."

His deliberate pace has served him well. Weed won a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship and was scheduled to participate in an immersive study abroad program in Jordan in summer 2021. But the COVID-19 pandemic shifted the in-person program to a virtual one.

"I'm really looking forward to hearing the dialect and being exposed to the different features of the program," he said. "I hope to come out a lot stronger in my linguistics."

With his strong grammar skills, Weed has helped his classmates by providing layman's examples during Arabic classes.

The former Air Force technical sergeant also is a former member of the Student Veterans of America (SVA).

"The SVA and its office have been a refuge for me," he said. "I can do homework in their office and recharge. I felt really welcome even though I'm just the old guy going back to school."

Weed, who graduated in December 2021 with a degree in modern languages with a concentration in Arabic language and literature and in May 2023 with a degree in cybersecurity, also encouraged members of the Corps of Cadets. He meets many of them in his Arabic and cybersecurity classes. Weed's minor is cybersecurity.

"I tell them about being a linguist. It's rewarding work," he said. "I spent a long time learning Arabic, and I wanted to help cadets with that."