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UST Students to Study Abroad in France
3/26/2008
UST students Oscar Roa and Julie Lang will travel to France this summer as the recipients of scholarships awarded by the Alliance Française de Houston. According to Dr. Rolande Leguillon, UST professor and program chair of French, judges for the organization, which usually awards scholarships to one student from each of the five major universities in Houston, were so impressed by Roa and Lang that they decided to award UST two scholarships.
 Roa, a sophomore French major with a double minor in Spanish and international studies, will leave for France in June to study at the University of Caen in Lower Normandy. Encouraged by an early French teacher, he has been studying the language since his freshman year at Lamar High School. The courses he will take abroad, he said, are geared toward enriching students’ knowledge of the French language and giving insight on the region’s culture. After completing the classes, he plans to travel throughout France and hopefully visit neighboring countries.
“This is an amazing opportunity for me, as I will finally be able to experience the French culture in a more intimate level.” Roa said. “I think it is crucial to visit the land of a language you feel so passionate about, and having this opportunity will grant me a new perspective of this culture of which I feel so ardent. Conversing with locals, eating the traditional foods and seeing historical sites in France is knowledge that I can’t wait to acquire.”
Lang, who will graduate in May 2009 with a degree in French and minors in international studies and psychology, plans to take courses in international studies as well as French language courses at the University of Strasbourg. She plans to stay in Strasbourg for a couple of months, spending two weeks traveling around France after finishing classes. Although she has visited the country before, she said she is excited about the special opportunity to become more familiar with the French university system, as she plans to attend graduate school in France.
“I don’t think I would have achieved this level in French without the help of Dr. Leguillon, who has been my professor for every French class I have taken at St. Thomas,” Lang said. “She deserves a lot of credit for her students’ success.”
The Alliance Française de Houston started the scholarship program more than 50 years ago. Since then the organization has sent approximately 50 UST students to study in France.
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