This winter, GCC is offering a study abroad opportunity where students have the chance to go to France. The program will last two weeks and will take place mainly in Paris. There will be a focus on the historical monuments in the city, with a few trips outside of the capital, including a trip to Provence (a medieval town outside Paris), and Versailles, where they will also visit the castle.
This opportunity is great for those who want to step out of their comfort zone. Sarah Mecheneau, a professor at GCC, said the trip will “introduce students to a foreign culture, leaving their comfort zones, push themselves in interacting with another culture, and cross that gap.” There will be two classes offered during the program, and no previous experience with the French language is needed. The first class is an English class that will focus on literature related to Paris, the 19th century, and any historical sites students will visit. The second class is a French class taught by Professor Mecheneau herself, which will provide more history behind these sites so that students can have the chance to fully understand what they’re experiencing, and to be able to appreciate them more.
After the pandemic, when people’s lives were starting to return to normal, GCC had offered another opportunity for students to visit France in 2022, and it was the first time students were able to get out since then. Compared to those offered by universities, the costs of this program are much cheaper. Mecheneau explained that universities often times will pay companies to design and plan the programs for them, and that GCC tried working with local companies so they would be cheaper. The cost is $2895 for 15 nights, and while that doesn’t include the flights, the tuition for the two courses, nor the lunches and dinners, it does include the accommodations, breakfast, and all the visits and transportation in Paris. Additionally, there are scholarship opportunities available through the Glendale Foundation.
There are a lot of benefits to joining the program. Students get to leave their usual surroundings and meet new people from different cultures and backgrounds who speak different languages. This program can widen their perspectives and make them reflect on their own cultures. For example, Professor Mecheneau said that when students went to France the summer of last year, they were made more aware of how much of a privilege it is to have air conditioning, and made them realize how much bigger the issue of climate change is in Europe compared to America.
Furthermore, this trip will help people when it comes to finding jobs and the job markets. Mecheneau says that people have soft skills and hard skills, and hard skills are easy because you can simply practice them. With soft skills, it’s not as simple. Going to study abroad forces students to work on their soft skills and how they socialize. They learn how to adapt quickly, become more flexible, and learn how to think of solutions on the spot.
Professor Mecheneau also stated that next year, the college is planning on having a Bootcamp Program where students will experience a “real study abroad” program. It will last two weeks, and students will take classes at French universities, where they will earn certificates. Study abroad programs happen twice a year at GCC, once during summer and once during winter.
Margarita Avagyan can be reached at [email protected].