I graduated in 1974 and was a French major during the time Mme Ortoleva was a
professor in the Department of Foreign Languages. It was she who encouraged me
to apply for a Junior Year in France program with Hamilton College (Skidmore did
not have its own program at the time; my classmate Molly Koebel Delaunay was the
Skidmore liaison in Paris for many years following our graduation). I would recommend
the year abroad to all language majors. I don't believe there is any substitute
for living in the country if you are serious about developing an understanding
of its history and culture, as well as attaining a high level of fluency. The
Junior Year in France program was a wonderful adventure in all aspects--intellectually,
academically and socially. I still remember studying on the metro for the Tuesday
and Thursday morning verb drills, and when our French family invited our grammar
teacher for dinner the evening before my roommate and I planned to cut class to
travel to Belgium for the weekend. Living abroad gave me confidence in my ability
to adapt to new surroundings and to try new things. Both have been valuable assets
in my professional life. Following graduation, I taught French at a local community
college for several years, and then attended Villanova University School of Law,
graduating in 1983. I have been a practicing attorney since that time, first as
an associate, later as a partner in a firm, and now at the helm of my own firm.
My practice involves estate planning, mediation and family law. Sadly, I do not
use my French on a daily basis. I do, however, belong to a French conversation
group (le circle francais du soir) which is composed of French women whose husbands
work at the local pharmaceutical companies, as well as women like myself who have
some connection to the French language and culture. I also have a wonderful framed
poster of Chenonceaux in my office and one of Vaux-le-Vicomte, my favorite chateau,
in our family room. Together with a framed print of the coat of arms of Paris,
a gift from another Skidmore student on my Junior Year Abroad program, they are
a daily reminder of that glorious year. I am also learning Italian! I have made
only two return trips to France since my days at Skidmore, once in 1983 as a law
school graduation present, and again in 1993 with a dear friend who was living
in England at the time. Following that trip, I told my husband, only half-joking,
that I had found the place for us to grow old together in Provence. More recently,
my younger daughter chose French as her foreign language in middle school, so
we are beginning to have petites conversations together. My older daughter, who
has studied Latin for three years, will switch to French next year. We are all
looking forward to a family trip to France in the summer of 2004. I can hardly
wait to share my favorite places in Paris and the French countryside with my husband
and children.