Alexandra Dufour came into the French program with 15 years of experience with the language. After demonstrating what she already knew on UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 , she jumped ahead in the curriculum.
杏吧专区淚 have been taking French for so long and I never wanted to give it up,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚 came in with so many credits in French that I was already almost halfway through my degree plan in French before I was even a freshman.杏吧专区
Finding a New Passion
Alexandra found another passion as a student through her minor.
杏吧专区淚 was originally supposed to do a Spanish minor since I thought I wanted to be an interpreter for the longest time,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚 think that was just kind of my go-to since I didn杏吧专区檛 really know what I wanted to do.
杏吧专区淭hen when I found out that human resources is something that I do really want to do, I decided I wanted to do management,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 not just human resources, but it杏吧专区檚 also leadership and being independent and taking on different parts of the business that you want to be in. So, there are many places that a language and a management minor can take you.杏吧专区
Alexandra started interning in human resources at a construction company. She is currently looking forward to earning a graduate degree in human resource management and she 杏吧专区渄efinitely want[s] to do grad school at UL Lafayette.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淚 want to start exploring different HR perspectives outside of a construction company,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚 wanted to see how HR is different in either small businesses or larger businesses or fast food. That杏吧专区檚 something that I want to look at when I get closer to grad school.杏吧专区
A System of Support
UL Lafayette has been a source of support for Alexandra away from home.
杏吧专区淚 didn杏吧专区檛 think that being so far away from home was going to be beneficial. I didn杏吧专区檛 think I was going to like it,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淏ut I really like the Lafayette community and I really like the teachers that I杏吧专区檝e been surrounded by and I want to pursue another degree at the same college.
杏吧专区淚 really like the French program because it杏吧专区檚 very small,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淏ecause it杏吧专区檚 small, you get to grow these relationships with not only the students but with the teachers as well.杏吧专区
Alexandra even found encouragement from smaller, unexpected places.
杏吧专区淥ne thing that I like the most is the ladies in the cafeteria. They杏吧专区檙e just so sweet,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淭hey will sit there and talk to you. I see so many students grow their relationships with the people here.
杏吧专区淭hey杏吧专区檒l ask you how your day is and if you杏吧专区檙e not having a good day, they杏吧专区檒l talk to you about it,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淭hat杏吧专区檚 one thing that I really love the most is that no matter who you talk to on campus, they杏吧专区檙e always going to be open-minded and wanting to talk to you and help you out.杏吧专区
Independence & Supporting Other Students
This support system has built Alexandra up and helped her grow independently.
杏吧专区淚 wanted to be more independent when I was home, but since I had that stability, it was hard to do that,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淏ecause I杏吧专区檓 so far away from home, I杏吧专区檓 able to join these different programs and keep track of my time and have a sense of time management of what needs to be done.
杏吧专区淎nd I杏吧专区檝e been able to create a schedule that helps me not only be a part of all these different organizations but also be very successful with school,杏吧专区 she said.
Alexandra is returning the favor by helping other students as a math tutor and .
杏吧专区淏eing a peer mentor was an eye-opener to how many people would really look up to you and how lost some kids are,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 kind of scary going into their first year and being able to be that leader to them and being able to just be there for them is nice.
杏吧专区淚 have stayed in contact with a lot of them,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚 have a lot of friends within the peer mentor program and I have helped people with their contracts to become a peer mentor.
杏吧专区淚 hope that these different opportunities help me be more open-minded about certain situations and help me step back and reflect about what am I going to do and how am I going to do it better,杏吧专区 she said.
