Five Arkansas Tech University students are participating in a one-month study abroad program in France during July.
Jamie Burch of Hector, Hailey Falies of Dallas, Texas, Brianne Ramsey of Greers Ferry, Kendon Shook of Clarksville and Duane Young of Russellville are immersing themselves in French culture at Campus International de Cannes.
“The learning is going great and the experience of the culture and civilization definitely broadens their world views,” said Philippe Van Houtte, who serves as systems librarian at ATU’s Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center, visiting lecturer of French in the ATU Department of English and World Languages and is leading the ATU students on their summer experience in France.
The ATU delegation was invited to participate in a July 4 remembrance of the crew of a U.S. Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator that was shot down near Cannes on May 25, 1944.
“We were lucky enough to meet U.S. General Consul Simon Hankinson, who is based in Marseilles,” said Van Houtte. “He was a speaker at the event. We shook hands and took a picture in front of the monument erected in honor of those Americans who gave their lives for France’s freedom.”
The ATU representatives in Cannes are studying the French language and learning more about the local culture.
Learn more about study abroad opportunities at Arkansas Tech at blogs.atu.edu/studyabroad.
Photographed (from left-to-right): U.S. General Consul Simon Hankinson, ATU students Hailey Falies, Kendon Shook, Brianne Ramsey, Jamie Burch, and Duane Young and Philippe Van Houtte, systems librarian and visiting lecturer of French at ATU, stand in front of a World War II-era monument in Cannes, France.
