Globe-trotting Quaker Valley tennis player learns Arabic in Morocco

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, September 14, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Hannah Stein, at age 16, already is a world traveler.

Make that a globe-trotting linguistic.

Stein, a junior and returning starter on the Quaker Valley girls tennis team, spent almost seven weeks on the other side of the earth this summer.

The QV jetsetter traveled to Morocco through a program called NSLI-Y, which is a language initiative that focuses on motivating high school students to learn what are known as “critical” languages.

“When applying to the program, I was most interested in learning Arabic,” Stein said, “and therefore was able to travel to Morocco. I was there with 19 other students who were in my program.

“Arabic had interested me because of my passion for women’s rights. In some countries throughout the Middle East, women’s rights aren’t valued to the extent which they should be, and it is extremely difficult for women in these climates to acknowledge this issue. I think knowing Arabic, the official language of many of these countries, would allow me to make a bigger impact because of the connection and relationship I could build with the women there.”

Stein, who lives in Sewickley Heights, speaks Hungarian fluently in addition to English. This was the first time she tackled the Arabic language.

“I entered the program without any previous Arabic experience,” she said. “I am bilingual, and aside from that, I have been studying French in school for the past four years.

“I travel internationally quite frequently because my mom and younger brother live in Hungary. I also have experience traveling to other countries to partake in service work, like Tanzania and Thailand, which I visited last summer.”

Along with the cultural experience gained from the trip to Morocco, Stein was able to form valuable relationships with several of the others who traveled with the group.

“I loved spending time with my cohorts and getting to practice my Arabic in everyday life there,” Stein said. “Getting close with everyone in my group was easy because of our daily interactions in school and activities, and as more time elapsed, I gained a better understanding of the language and was able to have better conversations.”

Morocco is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Morocco has a population of approximately 37 million. Arabic and Berber are the official languages.

Stein, who has a 4.45 GPA, and the other students stayed in Morocco’s capital city of Rabat — an 8.5-hour flight and almost 4,000 miles from Pittsburgh.

“I really enjoyed my time in Morocco,” Stein said. “It was a great experience and really allowed me to immerse myself in my Arabic learning. Rabat is a beautiful city on the coast. I resided with my host family in the center of the city and would commute to school each day in the southern area of the city (a 10-minute taxi ride).

“My friends and I enjoyed going to cafes and studying, going to the beach and shopping at the souks in the old city.”

Stein is a veteran player in the QV girls tennis program, led by hall-of-fame coach Christi Hays.

“I have known Hannah for three years, and as long as I’ve known her, she has been a traveler, both in the states and also abroad,” Hays said. “After all, a brother and her mother live in (Hungary).

“I learned she spent much of the summer in Morocco learning to speak Arabic with hopes of being an advocate for women and girls. It was a program that included 440 students chosen to receive the scholarship. I was not surprised but was so impressed the more I read of the program. And Hannah is very focused on how she will apply what she learned moving on in her life.”

Stein was not able to practice and play as much tennis this summer as she did in previous years. She’s been focused on catching up with her teammates.

“Hannah missed all of preseason play,” Hays said. “And that means early in the season, she has been playing a bit of catch-up and continues to work her way into a solid starting position. She has played both singles and doubles for us so far.”

Stein and then-freshman Kate Miller competed as the No. 10 seed in the WPIAL Section 5-2A girls doubles tournament last year.

“It has been a good (2025) season so far,” Stein said. “We’ve won all of our matches, and our team has been so consistent in our efforts and ability. I think this is going to be an amazing season for QV, and I can’t wait to see where it leads us.”

This much is for sure: Both the WPIAL and PIAA finals are held stateside.

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