Five Languages, Literatures, and Cultures French students received recognitions or scholarships at this year’s undergraduate awards ceremony.
Certificate of Recognition by Pi Delta Phi (French honor society)
Melissa Hranicka, double major in French and communications.
Two students received the “Certificat de reconnaissance” from the French honor society. First, Melissa Hranicka, double major in French and communication, was the 2015 recipient of the Scholarship for French Study Abroad, and an alum of the yearlong CIDEF program at the UCO in Angers, France. Melissa has been a board member of Pi Delta Phi for two years and has been president and the main person to organize and communicate Pi Delta Phi’s many events this year. We want to thank Melissa for her commitment and her love for all things French, and want to wish her well in her post-graduation future.
Abby Mustread, nursing major and French student.
Second, Abby Mustread is a sophomore nursing major who is also a student worker for Illinois State’s Office of International Studies and Programs and its Managerial Development International (MDI) program, which brings in many participants from francophone countries all over the world. Abby is able to work in French and speak French with her coworkers and program participants. Abby learned Spanish in high school but took on French after spending a summer in Togo, West Africa, in 2014. A current student in French 116, Abby had a big hand in coordinating conversation hours between MDI participants and French students and Pi Delta Phi. Through her connections, ISU students and faculty were able to make new friends and get to know about a variety of French-speaking countries like Niger, Senegal and Haiti.
Recently, Abby facilitated a visit of four Haitians to the French 116 class, where they spent some time learning about life in Haiti and even more interesting, they learned some basic Haitian Creole. Abby’s ideas and understanding of internationalization are truly representative of LAN and Illinois State’s goals. Abby plans to spend several months in Burkina Faso this summer.
Julia Martin, French teacher education major and scholarship recipient for academic year abroad.
Scholarship for French Study Abroad
Even in high school, Julia Martin knew that she wanted to be a teacher. Now a French student at Illinois State, Julia has made the bold decision to spend a full academic year at the CIDEF program in Angers, France, and is this year’s recipient of the Scholarship for French study abroad.
Julia does outstanding work not only in French, but in all of her classes. However, it is French that is truly her passion. While others revert to English because of lack of confidence or not knowing how to say something, Julia speaks French in just about every situation. She is active in Pi Delta Phi and attends just about every French conversation hour. Julia represents and carries forward the energy and future of the French teaching profession.
Petrossian-Tarrant Scholarship
Petrossian-Tarrant scholarship recipients for summer 2017.
Kara Hamilton, an English major and French minor, is one of two student recipients of the Petrossian-Tarrant Scholarship toward a summer study in Grenoble, France. Currently a student in French 214, after her four-week course at the Université Stendhal in Grenoble, Kara will complete her minor in French 213 in the fall. Kara is an excellent student who has earned As in all of her French classes so far. She is a hard worker, and an active and eager participant in class. She says that she hopes to improve her French skills while in France as well as expand her world views and become more conscious of and appreciative of other cultures.
Our second Petrossian/Tarrant scholarship recipient is Sophie Gimble, a deaf education major and French minor. Sophie, an equally formidable student, who has always wanted to go to France, will also attend the four-week course at the Université Stendhal in Grenoble. Already confident in her writing abilities, Sophie really looks forward to an immersion experience where she hopes to become more comfortable in her spoken and listening abilities in French. As a special ed major, Sophie is fluent in American sign language. One of her big goals is to learn enough French to also gain fluency in French sign language.
