WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO STUDY ABROAD IN FRANCE?

I was originally a geophysics major and changed to French and Linguistics after having studied the language. I felt it important to my own family history to learn the language as some of my ancestry traced back to Burgundy. By my third year of the language I became a Francophile and decided to take summer school in Paris in 2004. 

HOW HAS YOUR EXPERIENCE IN FRANCE CONTRIBUTED TO YOUR PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL GOALS?

My rather short time in Paris left me salivating for more. In 2006 after graduating, I participated in the TAPIF (Teaching Assistant Program in France), this time in Caen at a local high school. Personally, I matured a lot as this was my first time truly living independently and became much more cultured. I had my own apartment, explored the D-Day beaches and made great memories with my counterparts at other schools, some of whom are still my friends today! Professionally, I cemented my French language skills but even more so I got my first taste of a meaningful job in education.Since then I returned to science, completed my M.S. in geology and enjoyed a rewarding job teaching college students. 

CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ANECDOTE OR MEMORY THAT HAPPENED DURING YOUR STAY IN FRANCE?

Well, once in early winter, snowfall came and fell overnight. It wasn't a blizzard but the city was mostly crippled and my school was closed. I made the most of it, built a little fort and had a snowball fight with my neighbor's kids. The next day I showed up to work, with pea coat, scarf and hat and my students all asked me what it was like "to wear winter clothes for the first time". I let out a loud chuckle because they thought I had never seen snow in my life since I was from Los Angeles. It lit a light-bulb in my head that I should do a presentation and discussion about my home and that we have snow too, every year in our mountains. It evolved into an hour-long slide show about my home state and it was a hit with my students...and faculty. Before now a lot of these teens only saw my home as a place with palm trees and celebrities but afterwards they understood that we in California have many environments and landscapes and that we ski and snowboard just as much as we drive and surf. You never know what you'll be inspired by. 

IN ONE SENTENCE, FOR YOU, STUDY IN FRANCE MEANS....

It meant a total immersion out of my comfort zone and into the world of French culture for eight months! It was the best life decision of my twenties. 

Picture: Derik in Vilnius (Lithuania) during his TAPIF experience in 2006-2007
Find Derik's France Alumni USA profile here