Sweet Briar College JYF in Paris Alumni Magazine - December 2018

a grassy hillside dotted with woods.
It could have been Mont Blanc. We
were so happy to have made it to the
Vosges safely, in the company of kind
welcoming people. I still remember
reaching the top of that mountain; at
that moment, anything was possible.
I have always thought of those
healthy young girls, glowing with energy
and high spirits splashing frigid
water all over themselves oblivious
to the lack of comfort or convenience
of their surroundings. I can almost
hear their bubbling laughter as they
set off to a Spartan breakfast on their
minimalist holiday. The next day, I too
baptized myself with the freezing water.
In the spirit of those girls I vowed
to dive in to each new experience and
live deeply each moment that presented
itself.
The kindness of all those I met on
my Toussaint adventure has remained
with me. Like a true companion, it is
there when I need that inspiration to
keep going. This is one of so many
moments, some miniscule, some utterly
unexpected like this one, that
made JYF the gateway to everything
else.
Susan (Coulson) Burghes, JYF 76-77
Mount Holyoke College
A debt of gratitude to
Mme Denis
My year in Paris was one of the
most important, character-defining
periods of my life. As I am sure many
JYF alumni can attest, much of the
learning and personal growth I experienced
that year occurred outside the
classroom. Even the smallest details of
daily life, like taking the Métro or the
bus, living chez de Lambertye, and
navigating Sciences-Po and the Sorbonne
required an immense amount
of courage and fortitude that I didn’t
know I had! The year was one of international
tension, brought on by the
U.S. invasion of Kuwait and the fear of
terrorist reprisals against Americans
abroad. This prompted some universities
to somewhat hastily call and
recommend that we return home! Fortunately,
we did not heed that advice.
I have fond memories of so many
friends that year, including Marilyn
Washington (where are you?), Joe
Willey, Jen Collet, my dear friend and
roommate Becca Rubin Meurer, and
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many others. But some of my greatest
memories are of the support and
encouragement I received from Mme.
Carol Denis, directrice adjointe. I’ve
been fortunate to have had several
mentors throughout my life, and Carol
was one. An only child like me, she
understood me well. She came to
be a rock for me during a year often
marked by self-doubt, worry, and yes,
some homesickness. After I graduated
from Georgetown, I spent two
years working in London and Carol
graciously hosted me for a weekend
in Paris. She even accompanied me to
dinner with the de Lambertye family
and endured the raucousness à table
that many JYF alumnae who lived with
them will remember! Her death from
cancer, much too soon, saddens me
to this day.
Maureen (Brennan) Gershanik,
JYF 90-91
Georgetown University
The impact of study
abroad
When I studied abroad in 1995-96,
I had no idea how this experience
would shape the rest of my life. I remember
how excited I was when I
first learned that I was accepted into
JYF, but how apprehensive I was once
the day arrived to leave. I was very
afraid that my French skills were well
below the level needed to succeed
in my classes in Paris and that I was
going to fail all of my classes. With
my mom’s encouragement, I realized
that I needed to believe in myself and
take advantage of this amazing opportunity.
She also helped me realize
that JYF provided lots of support to
helps its students succeed, especially
its Paris-based associate director,
Carol Denis. She was truly supportive
and motivating during my entire nine
months abroad, and her role shaped
my decision to join the ranks of student
affairs professionals to support
and motivate students through their
college education.
After returning from Paris, I realized
how much more independent,
self-confident and globally aware I
had become in comparison to the
person I was before studying abroad.
This new awareness led to my interest
in gaining a better understanding of
the intellectual and emotional development
that occurred while overseas
via an independent research study
during my senior year of college. With
the guidance of Prof. Sadler in the
psychology department, I was able
to assess students through a pre/post
research study and learn how students
changed intellectually and emotionally
after their time abroad.
This opportunity was the beginning
of my interest in college student development
which lead me to earn my
master of education in college student
affairs administration at the University
of Georgia. Over the last twenty years,
I have worked with international student
life, housing, admissions, career
development, and graduate student
advising. For the last four years, I have
been working as a retention counselor
with the Pathway to the Baccalaureate
program at Northern Virginia
Community College, and for fifteen
years, I have taught SDV 100: College
Success Skills. In each role, I have
worked with students to determine
their academic and career paths and
helped connect them with resources
to support and motivate them along
their journey. I know that I would not
have realized my ability and desire
to help students achieve their goals
without the experience of studying
abroad and having the support and
encouragement of professionals like
Carol Denis. I am truly grateful to JYF
for the opportunity to study in Paris
with such an amazing program and
am thankful that the JYF experience
continues to be available to students
today.
Kerry Coleman-Proksch, JYF 95-96
Sweet Briar College
The supermarket
I participated in the Sweet Briar
College Junior Year in France program
in the spring of my sophomore year,
2009 before continuing my junior year
abroad in Scotland. I was young and
thought I spoke French after twelve
years of study, but just my first day in
Paris taught me that was an incredibly
naive assumption. The first full day
I was in Paris, on a gloomy January
morning, I got “stuck” in a supermarket.
(Though as you know there
actually aren’t supermarkets in down-