France J-Term Practicum
My immersive learning course was an incredible opportunity from academic, professional, and personal perspectives. I was able to connect the knowledge and skills I gained in my first semester at MIIS to the observations, projects, and conversations we had on-site. I also made invaluable connections with professionals in my field. Now that I’m back on campus, I feel that I have a wealth of new understanding of the real-world applications of what I am learning in the classroom, and I feel better equipped for my professional career. The goals I had set for myself before participating in the course in Paris were to gain experience and knowledge in the field of onsite Education Abroad, and to start building a network that I can use when searching for a practicum and afterwards full-time employment. I not only met those goals but I learned even more about myself, intercultural competency, and the role of language in education abroad.
Meeting different organizations and French institutions allowed me to network, gain experience and insider knowledge in the field, and envision myself in my future career. I was able to engage with students at the beginning of their semester in France and hear about their own goals, fears, and plans and I was able to observe their orientations. This made my shift from student to soon-to-be-professional feel more real and more exciting. I was also able to co-design and run the course with Martha Levin and our professor David Wick before and during this program. Lastly, as a learning partner project while onsite, I designed and prototyped a cultural activity for the Middlebury School in France, and they intend to implement this project this Spring. This kind of hands-on experience makes me feel confident in the path I’ve chosen and how I can use my strengths, education, and experiences to succeed.
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