Community college students say 'oui' to France – and science

The Christian Science Monitor ^ | September 13, 2017 | Sara Miller Llana

[Jagermonster]

A new program, sponsored by the French embassy in the US, aims​ ​to​ ​open​ ​​the​ ​classic​ ​junior​-year​-abroad ​experience​ ​to students who​ ​don't typically​ ​find​ ​the​ ​means or​ ​programs​ ​to​ study ​internationally.

PARIS —Daniela​ ​Markovic​ ​worked​ ​hard​ ​in​ ​high​ ​school​ ​with​ ​her​ ​sights​ ​on​ ​college – and possibly studying abroad.​ ​But​ ​when​ ​faced​ ​with​ ​economic​ ​reality,​ ​she opted​ ​for​ ​the​ ​honor’s​ ​program​ ​of​ ​her​ ​local​ ​community​ ​college​, ​and​ ​accepted​ ​that​ ​a two-week​ ​trip​ ​to​ ​Italy​ offered by the program ​would​ ​have​ ​to​ ​suffice​.

“Whenever​ ​I​ ​saw​ ​all​ ​my​ ​friends​ ​going​ ​off​ ​to​ university,​ ​and​ ​I​ ​was​ ​stuck​ ​at​ ​home – ​you​ ​can ask​ ​my​ ​mom –​ ​I​ ​cried​ ​so​ ​hard.​ ​I​ ​really​ ​did,”​ ​says​ ​the​ ​American​ ​undergraduate​ ​student.​ “I was​ ​expecting​ ​to​ ​go​ ​to​ ​university​ ​with​ ​all​ ​of​ ​my​ ​peers.”

Two​ ​years​ ​later,​ ​however,​ ​after​ ​completing​ ​her​ ​associate’s​ ​degree​ ​at​ ​Lone​ ​Star​ ​College in​ ​Texas,​ ​she’s​ ​gone​ ​much​ ​farther​ ​away​ ​than​ ​she​ ​imagined​ ​–​ ​to​ ​France.​ ​Ms.​ ​Markovic this​ week ​begins​ ​a​ ​four-year​ ​program​ ​that​ ​will​ ​ultimately​ ​see​ ​her​ ​earn​ ​a​ ​bachelor’s​ ​and master’s​ ​in​ ​engineering​ ​from​ ​a​ ​top​ ​school​ ​in​ ​France​ ​–​ not​ ​to​ ​mention​ becoming ​fluent​ in ​French​ ​and acquiring all​ ​the​ ​soft​ ​skills​ ​that​ ​come​ ​from​ ​living​ ​far​ ​from​ ​one’s​ ​comfort​ ​zone.

She’s​ ​the​ ​first​ ​American​ ​community​ ​college​ ​student​ ​to​ ​be​ ​offered​ ​a​ ​scholarship​ ​in​ ​a​ ​new program​ ​launched​ ​this​ ​summer​ ​by​ ​the​ ​French​ ​embassy​ ​in​ ​the​ ​United States.​ ​Community​ ​College Abroad​ ​in​ ​France​​ aims​ ​to​ ​open​ ​up​ ​the​ ​classic​ ​junior​-year​-​abroad​ ​experience​ ​to community​ ​college​ ​students​. Amid soaring tuition prices in the US, they ​make​ ​up​ ​a significant​ ​portion​ ​of​ ​America’s​ ​post-high​ ​school​ ​student​ ​body​ ​but​ ​rarely​ ​find​ ​the​ ​means or​ ​programs​ ​to​ ​do​ ​some​ ​of​ ​their​ ​studies​ ​internationally.

[Jagermonster]

Excerpted per rules.

[Jagermonster]

I don’t know what happened to the text on this one in the main forum. It didn’t show up like that on the post preview. Sorry about that. At least the article shows up correctly here.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

"“Whenever​ ​I​ ​saw​ ​all​ ​my​ ​friends​ ​going​ ​off​ ​to​ university,..."

WYF? I never heard an American state it that way. "To university" is a strictly European or Euro influenced idiom. We say "to college."

[MeganC]

“aims​ ​to​ ​open​ ​​the​ ​classic​ ​junior​-year​-abroad ​experience​ ​to students who​ ​don’t typically​ you​... “

I totally agree! (-:

[Jagermonster]

"Markovic, who was raised in Houston and is the child of refugees from Bosnia . . . "

There you have it.

[DUMBGRUNT]

I can’t read French.

Could please translate?

[MeganC]

Sure, it says:

“On the other hand, we denounce with righteous indignation and dislike men who are so beguiled and demoralized by the charms of pleasure of the moment, so blinded by desire, that they cannot foresee the pain and trouble that are bound to ensue; and equal blame belongs to those who fail in their duty through weakness of will, which is the same as saying through shrinking from toil and pain. These cases are perfectly simple and easy to distinguish. In a free hour, when our power of choice is untrammelled and when nothing prevents our being able to do what we like best, every pleasure is to be welcomed and every pain avoided. But in certain circumstances and owing to the claims of duty or the obligations of business it will frequently occur that pleasures have to be repudiated and annoyances accepted. The wise man therefore always holds in these matters to this principle of selection: he rejects pleasures to secure other greater pleasures, or else he endures pains to avoid worse pains.”

Then Frenchies are a wordy bunch, aren’t they?

[Fiji Hill]

WYF? I never heard an American state it that way. "To university" is a strictly European or Euro influenced idiom. We say "to college."

That struck me as well. I looked to see if the article was from a British publication.

[GreyFriar]

This “€” looks like the sign used to indicate a Euro. Thus your post is a very costly one.

[Jagermonster]

Nothing but the best for my fellow Freepers!

[GreyFriar]

Definitely :)

[DUMBGRUNT]

Oh my!
Do they stop to inhale?

And what ever happened to ‘Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party’?

I’ll just stick with, ‘the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog’.

In fact, I got never passed it.

[T-Bone Texan]

Hey, it’s all dirka dirka jihad to me.

[dragnet2]

Markovic, who was raised in Houston and is the child of refugees from Bosnia .

lol...