Shelby Boling found her passion for the French language while she was in high school. She decided to follow that passion to UL Lafayette.
杏吧专区淲hen I started to study French in high school, I discovered a passion in myself that I didn杏吧专区檛 know existed,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淨uickly, I became attached to this language that felt so natural to speak!
杏吧专区淐onsequently, I was motivated to make this love for the French language into a career for myself,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚 also became more interested in the declining state of French in Louisiana and the efforts to preserve it. I thought UL Lafayette would be the perfect institution to help me realize my ambitions.杏吧专区
Shelby杏吧专区檚 expectations were met in the Department of Modern Languages.
杏吧专区淚 think the French program at UL Lafayette is in a unique position that no other American university can quite match,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淲e, as French-learning students, have access to a unique kind of French that is spoken nowhere else in the world.
杏吧专区淚 think the opportunities to learn about Louisiana French and speak Louisiana French with natives is a quality that no other university can achieve,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淭his facet of the French program was definitively one that I highly valued.杏吧专区
Enhancing her French Degree
As someone with many interests, Shelby has also earned credit toward two minors: art history and medieval and early modern studies.
杏吧专区淚f French was my first love, art history was my second,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚 think that to study art history is to attempt to understand how the events of history affected people, the way they think, and ultimately the way they express themselves. This concept is something that is wholly appealing to me.
杏吧专区淎s for the medieval and early modern studies minor,杏吧专区 she said, 杏吧专区渢hat is another one of my special interests.
杏吧专区淚 think people of the Middle Ages can sometimes be more easily likened to the modern person than, perhaps, people think,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淢y first semester at UL Lafayette I took the UNIV 100 course, Women in Medieval France. It really unlocked for me a new perspective on a time period that is very often misunderstood.
杏吧专区淚t is essential to look to the Medieval period when trying to understand the evolution and origins of the French language,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淭his minor was very complementary to my major.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淚 would say these two minors helped me understand something fundamental about how people work,杏吧专区 she said, 杏吧专区渨hich is a skill I value highly and will utilize in my career as a teacher.杏吧专区
Preparing for a Career in French Immersion
Shelby will go right into her master杏吧专区檚 program once she graduates. She chose to continue her studies with UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 degree with a concentration in French immersion, which will give her the qualifications to teach French immersion in public and private schools.
The Department of Modern Languages and the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 culture as a whole have prepared Shelby for her future career.
杏吧专区淏esides providing me with the education that I need to achieve my goals, I杏吧专区檝e also learned how to work with people more effectively,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檝e learned to work in a team, how to manage a group of people, and how to be understood.
杏吧专区淭here杏吧专区檚 a real invaluable skill of communication that can be developed through a university experience like the one I杏吧专区檝e had,杏吧专区 she said.
