Living Abroad in Another Language

A diverse world, a new perspective A double-major in marketing and French, Skye ’19 lived abroad in La Rochelle, France during the fall of her Junior year.  Skye’s time in France brought her into contact with the world’s diversity as she made friends not only from France, but Germany, Sweden, Egypt, Korea, and more.  Forming these international friendships brought about a shift in perspective in Skye upon returning home.  Listen to Skye’s story.

When I was abroad, I became friends with a ton of people, and I think something that was really cool is that they were all from different backgrounds. So, it’s not like I was with people who were just American or hanging out with people who were just French the whole time. Rather, I had friends who were German, I had friends who were Swedish, I had Egyptian friends, I had Spanish friends, Dutch, British, Korean… I’ve really taken the different cultures and backgrounds of everyone that I’ve met–from so many different colors of skin and so many different places around the world–and I love them all equally. I think it’s really important to look at that and see now how I’ve brought that back to Valpo and how I’m striving to push for more diversity on campus and to push for more inclusivity on campus and for more of a welcoming community for anyone.