Scholarship Press Release!

Hey all,

As I have already mentioned, I have been the recipient of the Jerry Purdum Memorial Scholarship in French from the WIU Dept. of Foreign Languages and Literatures!

Here's thew WIU press release that went out about it on the 1st on this month:

Thanks for reading!

Substitute Teaching

Bonjour toute le monde!

Yesterday I played substitute teacher for 2 French classes while my professor was away. For the 300-level, I just proctored an exam. But for the 100-level, I was able to make some cute little handouts and lead my own lesson. I had a great time!

Above is a rather dramatized version of my family tree. Lucky for the students, I didn't have enough room to define all of the complex relationships in my family, nor list all of my cousins. However, I was able to provide a pretty good overview of the vocabulary from their book. I also provided them with a vocabulary reference page that they could keep in their binders.

First, we went over the above list of vocabulary by way of call and return. Then, I went through the rows and had each student read a vocabulary word out loud until we reached the end of the list. This way, we could work on their individual pronunciation and liaison between consonants and vowels. 

After, each student drew their family trees and wrote descriptions of 2 family members each, using the vocabulary they have already learned such as likes and dislikes, physical and personality descriptors. Everyone did such a good job!

As per usual, as soon as I think I have my future mapped out, I find a new interest... Hopefully I'll be able to sub a little more sometime so I can decide if I should go back for my teaching license after grad school.

Thanks for reading!

Winner!

Bonjour toute le monde!

I have good news! I have won the jerry Purdum Memorial Scholarship from the WIU Dept. of Foreign Languages and Literatures AGAIN!

This means that I am $500 closer to paying for my Aix-en-Provence program costs, and $500 less stressed out. Phew! Now I just need to find some more awards to apply for...

Thanks for reading!

Back to Reality: Scholarship Stress

Salut mes amis,

Though I was blessed with the incredible opportunity to participate in the Moncton Explore program practically free of charge with the help of the abundantly generous FIPSE Grant, it's clear to me that such good fortunes only occur but once in a lifetime.

In fact, because of the immoderate price of my upcoming semester in France, paired with the poor USD/EUR exchange rate, I feel like I'll be paying enough for two study abroad trips this time around. My university financial aid simply can't cover it all. However, I knew I would have to work my butt off to afford the trip when I applied in the first place. After all, what price can I put on my dream?

To help cover the cost, I have applied for, myriad scholarships in the past; and recently, too, I have been applying to scholarships whose cut off dates occur late than normal on the academic calendar, such as the CEA direct awards. For some reason, though, I feel like the effort lately is especially stressful. Maybe it's because I'm finally so close to actually going. I just can't wrap my head around the crazy cost!

Have you experienced similar stress about financial aid? If so, tell me in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

Hired!

Bonjour à tous!

I have great news to share: The WIU Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures has hired me on as a French tutor!

I am so excited to be able to work on maintaining my newly-improved French language skills, while helping my fellow students develop theirs. Plus, the extra income will help me save up for my upcoming study abroad trip to Aix-en-Provence.

Thanks for reading!

Alumni Annual Giving

Hi all,

I just wanted to share with you a little project I was involved in last semester...

Essentially, I was chosen by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature to write this letter to the Department's alumni in order to collect donations for our scholarship fund. As this is only a proof, though, the actual document differs slightly... I think it turned out rather well!

And yes, they are still accepting donations! ;) Have a great day!