An update from freshman Nicole Barmore, current French and studio art double major at Illinois State:
“I started taking French my freshman year of high school and only planned on taking the required two years, but realized I loved it at the end of my sophomore year and decided to stay with it all four years. I had the opportunity to take AP French at my high school and travel to Paris over spring break, and it was an incredible experience. After graduation I knew I wanted to keep learning the language so I decided to double major.
So far I’ve only taken two French classes at Illinois State, so I haven’t been very busy in that area yet. I don’t currently have a job, but I’ll be working at the Visor Center as a French tutor next fall. I’m an unofficial member of Pi Delta Phi, the French national honor society, and participate in their conversation hours and meetings. I’ve been a lot busier with my art major because the studio classes are usually three hours long and meet twice a week. Last semester I had three hour classes four days a week. I’m also in the Honors Program and a member of the Gamma Phi Circus.
One of the best things about my experience in French at Illinois State University is that we have small class sizes. There was only one section of the French class that I took this semester, and I already knew half of the people in it from the previous class I took. We all get to know each other really well and can help each other with homework and studying.
I haven’t studied abroad yet, but I plan to study in Grenoble in summer 2018. When I was in Paris with my high school it was so exciting whenever I talked to a native French speaker and they understood what I was saying. Even though I was only there for a week I learned so much about the language, country, and culture.
I don’t know what I want to do after graduation yet. I’m hoping to figure that out while I’m here over the next few years!”
