My experiences in the Department of Modern Languages have been among the most formative of my college career. Over the past four years of French and German classes, I have, of course, had the opportunity to improve my language skills. But it has been so much more than that! As a French major, I have been able to study everything from the subversive literature of the Francophone Caribbean to the symbolism of the gardens at Versailles to the origins of the French nation (hint: its ancestors are not les gaulois). In addition to spending a semester abroad at the Université de Montpellier, I have had the opportunity to conduct honors thesis research in France (funded by a scholarship offered through the French Department) and to serve as a tutor and teaching assistant, an experience which inspired me to apply for the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Program in Luxembourg.
Also, future plans — I have been selected as a Fulbright grantee for the Luxembourg English Teaching Assistantship (E.T.A) Program and will be teaching English at the high school / university level from September 2015 to June 2016. In addition to serving as a teaching assistant, I am looking forward to also taking classes at the University of Luxembourg.