|
|
 |
URI French
Alumni
To Send Alumni News, Updates, Inquiries EMAIL HERE
To subscribe to the URI French Program Listserv (for Current and Past
Students) EMAIL HERE
Where Are They Now?
1970s
Fred
Joyal (1979) lives in Los Angeles, California and is the
successful CEO of 1-800-DENTIST. He also
generously supports URI's Film Media Program and the annual film
festival "Visualizations." (October 2005)
Catherine
Pastore (MA, 1977) teaches French full-time and is Chair of the
department of Foreign Languages at South Kingstown High School
in Wakefield, Rhode Island.
Sandra
Auclair Shaw (1971) is currently teaching French full-time at North Cumberland Middle School
in Cumberland, Rhode Island. Here is her most recent update: I am proud to say that French is alive and
well in Cumberland. Why? We have an exploratory program where 7th
graders have one semester each of French and Spanish. Give me a chance,
I say, to get at them and they will respond. I am proud to say that
this year I have the largest number of 8th graders ever to have chosen
French: 59!!!! These students have a full year of 8th grade language
and proceed to high school at Level 2. This January [2006], I will
depart with 100 students for 5 days to visit Québec City. This has
become a very popular and legendary trip in Cumberland. This will be
our 9th annual trip, and it just keeps getting better, while really
promoting the study of French in our school. (October 2005)
1980s
Chris Gladu (1988) lives in Florida and works for IT Security
Software. This is what he was writing us in May 2005:
I sell
IT Security Software over the phone into the Quebec market...I've
been doing it for one company or another since about 1998. It's
ironic, I got the second major in French almost as an afterthought just
because
I had enough foreign language credits from my junior year abroad to do
it... it
has ended up being the catalyst for all the big moves I've made in my
professional life: I graduated a semester early (Dec 88) and my first
job
offer was with Holt Rinehart and Winston's Foreign Language group in
Fort
Worth....I was able to break into IT during the Internet boom in the
late 90's
despite not having a background in technology specifically because the
company
in Dallas that hired me wanted a French speaker.....when that ride
ended after
5 great years I was able to get this position in sunny Florida because
of the
French sales experience... French has paid off for me, and
that year abroad has been of
immeasurable value. On the other hand the BA in Political Science
has yet to show much of a return on investment. Most recent update from January
2008: I just completed my Master
of Arts in Pastoral Studies at Saint Leo University in December 2007.
John P. Panzica (1989, MBA, 1991) is
Assistant Dean of Enrollment Services at the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI)
in Warwick, RI. (2006)
1990s
Jennifer
(Burford) Biafore (1994) teaches French full-time at Narragansett High School
in Narragansett, Rhode Island.
Crissa
Carlotti (1991 & MA, 2001) graduated from URI with a degree
in French and Art History. She later received a MA in Education (with
concentration in French). She is presently a French teacher at East
Providence High School, Rhode Island. She is the past President of the AATF-RI, co-coordinator
of Grand Concours for RI, and uthor of the French Teacher's Guide of
French Art at the RISD Museum. (October
2005)
Dr.
Jeanne M. Kabulis (1990) teaches French and Spanish at Centreville High School in
Clifton, Virginia. This is the update she
sent us in September 2006: I
graduated from URI in
1990 with a B.A. in French (minor in Spanish). I earned my M.A. (1992)
and
Ph.D. (1997) in French from Penn State University. At some point in my
doctoral program, I realized that being a university professor was
not for me [...]. I enjoyed being a student of French literature
and civilization, but it was simply not where I wanted to focus my
energy. Rather,
my first love has always been teaching language and I enjoy perusing
the latest
scholarship in the field to the extent that it informs my
teaching. My husband
and I moved to Las Vegas in 1997 where I earned
my teaching credential in French and went on to teach French and
Spanish in the
Clark County School District (Las Vegas, NV) as well as French, ESL and
World
literature at both the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the
Community
College of Southern Nevada. We left
Las Vegas in 2003. Since then, I have been teaching
both French and Spanish in Fairfax County Public Schools in Northern
Virginia.
Currently, I teach at Centreville High School in Clifton, VA. We
have two
children, Zoe and Anthony. (2006)
Kirstin
Bidlack Stahl (1996) teaches French full-time at South Kingstown High School
in Wakefield, Rhode Island.
Sara
Tremblay (1991) sent us the following update in May 2007:
Early 1992: I moved
to France (with the man I
later
married ~ a Johnson & Wales Chef) to work for EuroDisneyland
Paris on
a 1-yr. Visa.
1993: I moved to Florida.
I was hired by a French managed company called "IMG" or International
Marketing Group. The office was in the middle of an 800 acre
citrus grove.
IMG are citrus growers, but more specifically successful
niche
brokers. Their administration is French & they sold FL Citrus
directly to
the largest grocers in Europe, bypassing
importers. I was fortunate & worked with them from
'93-'96 in
Marketing. I traveled 11 European countries with them, meeting
buyers,
encouraging them to use the marketing kits from The FL Dept. of Citrus
& to
visit us in FL. 1996: Baby 1 of 3
was born. I've been a full time at home
mom working p/t w/ flex hours ever since.
Truth be told, I
often wonder what to be when I grow up.
2000s
Gérard
Benoît
(Yourcenar 2005) is currently teaching French at Mansfield High School
(in the Boston suburbs).
Nicole
Bradley (Yourcenar 2005) lived and taught high school
English in Le Pontet, France in 2005/2006.
Morgan
Buonanno (Rochambeau 2004) lives in Seekonk, RI and teaches high school French in the
Bristol and Warren Regional School District in Rhode Island. She also
works for Mondes Nouveaux, a
non-profit organization that arranges stays for French students
in the US. She is getting married in October 2005. (2005)
Amber
Castle (Baker 2007) lives in Hamden, CT. This is her most
recent update: I am still in contact with the French
pharmacy students who participated in the excahnge program with URI (SEE PHOTOS). This summer I hope to take a month to
travel across Europe. I highly recommend this rotation to everyone! I
am working at Yale-New Haven Hospital as a pharmacy resident. Our
department is really progressive, so there are lots of interesting
clinical opportunities. I'd be happy to give tours or answer any
questions -- everyone should feel free to e-mail me anytime. We
also host two exchange programs, one from Spain and one from Rennes,
France! Every year I get to meet two new French students. I haven't
figured out what to do with my Certificate in French and Pharmacy yet,
but I'll keep you posted. I've been looking into possibly working in a
hospital in Montreal, but the process to transfer my degree there is a
little daunting. On verra bien! : ) Thanks for a wonderful experience
at URI! (2007)
Ah'leah
Companie (Cartier 2006) lives in Connecticut after a year in
Toulouse, France. (2007)
Amy
(Concannon) Ditzel (Rochambeau 2004) now lives in Pembroke,
Massachusetts. This is the update she sent us at the end of September
2005: Since graduating
with a BA in French, a BS in Nursing, along with
completing the Honors Program, I have been working as an RN at South
Shore Hospital in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Several
of my
coworkers also speak French, so we often have conversations in French.
I have begun a Master's program at Northeastern University, where I am
pursuing my Neonatal Nurse Practitioner degree.
I got married in May,
and now live in Pembroke, MA.
Logan
Connors (Rochambeau 2004) is a dual degree PhD. candidate in
French
Literature at Lousiana State
University and University
of Paris IV (Sorbonne). He is currently a student of the Ecole
Normale Supérieure-Lyon. He plans to write his dissertation under
the direction of Professors Pierre Frantz and Michel Delon. (2008)
John
Coughlin (Rochambeau 2004) is PhD. candidate in Biomedical
Engineering at Yale. (2005)
Ryan Cournoyer (Rochambeau 2004) is working at Bentley Systems Inc.
where he uses both his French and his civil engineering skills daily.
Here is his latest update: Following my
graduation from URI and my internship with Université Laval in spring
2004, I've been
employed by a civil engineering software company called Bentley Systems
Inc. We're headquartered
in Exton, PA,
however, we do have offices and partners in 38 states,
virtually every
country in Europe, and a total of 40 countries worldwide. In January
2007 I was asked to spend
6 months working out of our
international headquarters in Amsterdam and I've had the opportunity
to give software sales presentations/demonstrations/seminars/training
in 22 countries since
then including Iceland, Sweden, Belgium,
Israel, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Turkey, Luxembourg, Romania,
Italy,
Jordan,
Egypt,
Ireland,
the UK, Germany, Belgium,
South
Africa, etc. French
was and still is utilized almost daily in my position through
collaboration
with French colleagues,
help in travel situations (particularly Romania in my case), one on
one
with clients, and
opened doors for me in career development. With Bentley I specialize in
support
of their product
line that involves hydraulic mapping and calculations for water
distribution
and wastewater
collection systems. As of now I am the only member of our team that can
train
and communicate
to our French users with respect to this specific line of products.
I've
trained users in Trois Rivières,
Quebec,
given sales demonstrations for consultants in Drummondville,
QC, presented
to the Ville de Montréal, and aided in conferences in Quebec City.
Within the next month
I've been asked to train a group of users in Tunis, Tunisia.
Obviously without the ability to couple
a Civil Engineering degree with a French degree, none of these
opportunities
would have been
opened to me. (October 2007)
Victoria
Crimmins (Rochambeau 2004) is currently working in Santa Cruz, California as a
Marketing Manager for
Financial
Research Associates, LLC, a company that produces financial and pharmaceutical
conferences. She is also attending San Jose State University as an
M.A. candidate in French. In her spare time, she volunteers for
URI
as an Alumni Admissions
Representative, recruiting Bay Area students to URI. (September 2005)
Ruth Gisselle Crisostomo (Rochambeau 2004) graduated in 2008
with a Professional French
Master (PFMP) (concentration in Media/Arts/Cultural
Production) from the
University of Wisconsin at Madison. She interned with Courrier de l'Ouest in
Niort and Radio France
in Poitiers, France in 2005/2006.
Caroline
Cuddy (Piaf 2008) was hired by the Spanish Government as "Auxiliar de
Conversación". She will be teaching English conversation in
a high
school in Andalucía during academic year 2008/2009. (May 2008)
Chris
Cummiskey
(Rochambeau 2004) is a graduate student in engineering at URI.
(2007)
Pascale Delaunay
(Yourcenar 2005) is an electrical engineer at Cisco
Systems in San Jose,
California.
(2005)
Soani
Delgado (Yourcenar 2005) works for the City of Providence in
the Department of Public Works.
(2006)
Gretchen
Dlugolecki (Cartier 2006) graduated in 2008 with a Professional
French
Master (PFMP) (concentration in European Affairs) from the
University of Wisconsin at Madison.
She interned at the Ecole
Nationale de l'Aviation Civile in Toulouse, France as a
cultural liaison between a group of American engineer students and the
French Administration in the summer and early fall 2007.
Courtney
Edge (Rochambeau 2004) created her own business and this is what
she was writing us in October 2006: I've
been busy creating my own business for the past 9 months, and am now in
a place to share it with others. Since January, a fellow URI grad and I
have been researching the history of the East Side of Providence. We've
focused on fairly macabre areas of study, and have created The
Providence Ghost Tour. Check us out at www.providenceghosttour.com.
We're running tours now through mid-November, and do have group rates
available if a bunch of folks want to go. (2006)
Salma Faghri
(Yourcenar, Minor, 2005) is a MD candidate at Brown
Medical
School. (2005)
Mansour
Faye (Piaf 2008) interned at the French television network France 24
in the summer 2008. He is a MS candidate in Software
Engineering and Television Management at Drexel
University. (2008)
Sarah
Feeley (2002) now lives in New York City after several years in
Paris, France where she worked as
Academic Advisor at NYU in
Paris. This is what she was writing us in October 2006: Je travaille pour la Foundation for
AIDS Research comme Assistant Coordinator for Media
Relations et je
vais aller au Festival de
Cannes pour mon boulot cette année! Je suis très contente. En plus,
je fais un peu de "freelance" en ce moment. Je suis traductrice pour le
New York City
Center Fall for Dance Festival (il y a quelques troupes françaises
qui participent au festival). Même à New York j'utilise mon français. (2006)
Sarah Feeley, BA
French/BFA Theatre Class of 2002
Sarah (Gabryluk) Koenig (Baker 2007)
works in
East Hartford, CT. Here is her latest update: I am working as a Quality Engineer in Pratt and Whitney's rotational
engineering program. I just started my first rotation last week in
the Engine Center. In this rotation, I help support our commercial
engine program, but mainly the V2500 engine. I am able to see how all
the different pieces of the engine come together to make what we make best.
It is amazing to see these engines go from parts to product. Part of my
responsibilities involve charting non-conformances to identify possible
targets for process and design improvements. One of my co-workers is
Quebecois and we often speak to each other in French. I've talked to my
supervisor about doing a rotation in International Supplier Quality
which would allow me to work with one of our suppliers in Belgium, with
trips to Belgium as necessary. I've found a French conversation group
in West Hartford that meets every other week, and have had a lot of fun
using the language again. (August
2007)
Otto Gregory (Baker 2007)
works in West Kingston, RI. Here is his latest update: At the time of my graduation the job
market wasn't conducive to finding satisfying, sustainable work.
Instead of relocating I decided to start a business, a technical
company actually. Northeast Sensors Incorporated opened its doors in
West Kingston Rhode Island officially on April 20, 2007. The
company prides itself on designing and producing health monitoring
devices for jet engines. To make things more interesting, our products
are for military applications, with a strong emphasis on research and
development. Some of our clientele includes Rolls Royce Aerospace,
United States Airforce, United States Airforce Research Labs, United
States Navy, Pratt & Whitney, as well as other companies that play
a major role in the development of propulsion instrumentation. The
company requires me to do quite a bit of traveling, most of which is
domestic. A change of scenery is always good. I feel very fortunate to
have the opportunity of working for myself. It's something I never saw
myself doing while I was still a student. That's the beauty of
life, you never know where it will take you. (May 2008)
Katie
Guida (Piaf 2008) was offered full financial support (TAship)
by Pennsylvania State University
where she will start in the MA/PhD program in Art History in the fall
2008.
Stacey
Haag (Cartier 2006) lives and works in New York City. Here is
her latest update: I've
gotten a new job! I am now the Merchandising and Design Assistant for Chorion Silver Lining (Chorion is
a large UK conglomerate concentrating in Children's brand management).
Anyways, very exciting times!
(November 2007)
Erika Hansson (2002) has
visited just about every Western
European country during the last three years. She has taught English in
Copenhagen, Denmark and in Vence, France where she lived until this
past
February. She is living in Warwick and preparing a MAT/TC program for
French at URI. (2007)
Nevan Hanumara (Rochambeau 2004) is a PhD. candidate in
Mechanical Engineering at MIT.
(2005)
Annie-Laurie
Hogan (Piaf 2008) was hired by the French Ministry of Education
to teach
English in Rouen, France during the academic year 2008/2009. She
will then start her JD at Villanova University School of Law
in the fall of 2009.
Martha
Holmes (2002) received a M.A. in French Literature from Boston
University and is currently teaching French and Spanish at CCRI. You can contact Martha HERE. (2008)
Sara
Jacobs (Yourcenar, Minor, 2005) lives in San Francisco,
California
where she works as Program Administrator for the Institute of International Studies
at the University of
California. (2007)
Julie Jette
(Yourcenar 2005) sent us the following update at the end of
September 2005: After graduation I
spent the summer as an intern with Saint
Gobain in Northboro, Massachusetts. I
also spent two weeks
vacationing in France, (Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux). I will be
returning to work full time for Saint Gobain as a Research engineer on
October 11th.
Stefany
Joaquin (Cartier 2006) taught high school math in Westerly, RI.
She is now working as an audit analyst. (2007)
Matt
Kane (2003) works for ChoiceStream in
Cambridge, MA. This is his most recent update: Un de mes collègues ici a habité en France
pendant dix ans ainsi de temps en temps nous parlons en français.
Malheureusement je ne suis pas retourné en France mais je voyage à
Montreal les étés pour le festival de Mutek. D'habitude je
voyage avec un camarade tout à fait américain donc je dois lui traduire
les signes! (2007)
Thomas
Keohane (Baker 2007) teaches English and Art at the French American School of Rhode Island
in Providence, RI. (October 2007)
Melissa
Klipple (2001) graduated from URI with a BA in French and
Mathematics. Here is her latest update:
In December 2004, I
finished my teaching certification program in Secondary Mathematics and
am currently teaching 9th grade Algebra. in Connecticut. Unfortunately,
I have not been able to teach French because of the great need for math
teachers in my area. However, the French language still holds a dear
place in my heart and I find it useful in my job every day. In my
school district we have many ESL students and knowing the difficulties
of learning French as a second language, I can relate to these students
who work so hard to learn my language. For me, knowing another language
has been a great advantage for any field or career paths I have chosen.
(September 2005)
Ide
Koulbanis (Cartier 2006) teaches 7th grade French at Deering
Middle School in West Warwick, RI. (2006)
Rachel Lomonaco
(Yourcenar 2005) spent a year in Guinea, Western Africa working
for the Peace Corps and here
is the update she sent us in September
2006:
Both of my passions emerged as a teenager when I began to study French.
Somehow I just couldn't get enough of French! I loved to learn the
language, I watched movies, listened to music, learned whatever I could
about the culture and society. But when it came time to fill out
college applications, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to
study apparel design. I was stuck on design and vintage clothing, and
my love of French wasn't going to sway my decision. But it was always
in the back of my mind. In fact, I ended up at URI because I
couldn't imagine going to an art school where language studies wouldn't
go past an intermediate level. And once at URI, my very first class was
oral expression with Prof. Durand. Within a week, he managed to
convince me that doing a dual degree was entirely possible and really
quite simple. And he was right. During my four years at URI, I was able
to finish both degrees, study abroad in France, help in the Historic
Textile and Costume Collection and finish a tailor shop apprenticeship
with Nordstrom in Providence. What I most love about my college
studies, is that I was able to mesh my varied interests: language,
literature, sociology, philosophy, film studies, design, historic
costume and practical apparel construction. And the professors in both
departments were endlessly helpful. Both fields have given me something
practical to carry with me the rest of my life. I now have the ability
to express myself in two languages on topics as diverse as
existentialism, music, psychology, politics, agriculture and film. And
I was able to work with Peace Corps in francophone Guinea with an
assurance that many struggle to acheive. Knowing the language
beforehand gives you the opportunity to create more lasting
relationships and help people more readily on a technical level. You
can gain the trust of people more easily and also appear more
knowledgable and professional in whatever field you enter. As for my
textile and apparel background, nothing is more basic to a people's way
of life than clothing and textiles. In many areas it is the one truly
expressive art form they use on a daily basis; and tailors and weavers
are found in every village. My time in Guinea motivated me to keep
French an integral part of my life and solidified my desire to return
to URI to continue studies in textile conservation. (2006)
Emily
Macaux (Piaf 2008) was offered full financial support (TAship)
by Boston University where
she will start in the MA/PhD program in French Literature in the fall
2008.
Ilana
Marcus (Cartier 2006) is a Master of Arts candidate in Teaching
for Math Education at Boston University.
This is the update she sent us in October 2006: I will graduate in May and soon I will be
teaching math in high school! While I am glad to be getting my Master's
degree, I really miss my URI days (especially French class!), le Rhode
Island me manque! (2006)
Patricia
Matthews (Piaf 2008) was hired by the French Ministry of Education
to teach
English in Bordeaux, France during the academic year 2008/2009.
Aubrey Maxwell
(Rochambeau, Minor, 2004) lives in San Diego, California. Here
is her latest update:
I am currently
working for an Advanced Technologies firm doing marketing and
tradeshows for them. I frequently travel within the states for General Atomics, attending different tradeshows and
displaying our newest technologies to mostly our government clients. I
can't ask for a better place to live than San Diego, where the sun in
always shining and where I'm currently training for a marathon.
(October 2005)
Kelly McBrien (Baker 2007) is a Professional French
Master Program (PFMP) candidate at the
University of Wisconsin at Madison (concentration in Business).
(August 2007)
Courtney
McKenna
(Yourcenar 2005) is a Master candidate in College Student
Personnel at the University of Rhode Island. (2006)
Becky Miller (2002,
2004)
teaches French at East
Lyme
High School in Connecticut, and here is the update she sent
us in September 2005: Je suis prof
de français dans mon ancien lycée au Connecticut!! J’ai été embauchée
dès mon départ de l'université. J’adore mon travail, c'est tout ce que
j'avais toujours voulu faire comme métier. Puisque c'est mon ancienne
école, je connais le bâtiment, les autres profs, et les soeurs et les
frères de mes élèves. J’enseigne le français 1 et 2. Pour vous donner
une idée de ce qu'on fait dans le français 1, on vient d'apprendre les
chiffres de zéro jusqu'à vingt et l'alphabet. Dans le français 2, on
vient de passer une interro sur « avoir » et
« être ». Un
peu différent de ce que je faisais à l'université avec vous, mais ça me
plait beaucoup. J’ai un très bon rapport avec mes élèves, qui sont pour
la plupart des freshmen (14 ans). On travaille beaucoup, et on rit
beaucoup aussi. En plus, je vais toujours à leurs matchs de football
américain, leurs cross country meets, leurs band competitions, etc.
pour qu'ils puissent voir que je m'intéresse vraiment à leur vie. Et
c'est vrai!! J’adore mes élèves, j'adore mes collègues, (j'adore
mon salaire!) et je n'ai jamais été aussi contente de ma
vie.
a +, Becky
PS :
connaissez-vous le site web www.comfm.com? On peut y écouter des stations de radio
en direct qui viennent de beaucoup de pays différents. Je l'écoute
chaque jour avec mes élèves.
Jihan
Minikon
(Yourcenar, Minor, 2005) interned with VH1 in New York
City. She was a PA on the set of The Best Week Ever Show.
(2007)
Carlos
Muñoz (2002) works for Smith
Barney,
Mutual Fund Annuity Group, Service of Offshore Mutual Funds in New York City. (2006)
Gabrielle
Murphy (Cartier 2006) works for the TMC-Advanced Coatings
department of Pratt & Whitney in
East Hartford, CT. This is her latest update: Things are going very well here at Pratt.
I am almost 1/2 way into my second rotation in the advanced coatings
department. I work as a process engineer at the moment, monitoring,
qualifying and ameliorating the Electron Beam Vapor Deposition ceramic
coating process along with four other engineers. My days are quite
busy, filled with test trials, ergonomic improvements, process
improvements, and
many issues that arise day to day. Last
summer our program went on a trip to the plant in Montreal, Quebec.
There I spoke French. It was great to use the language again. I haven't
been able to use it in my everyday job, but there are many
opportunities for work overseas or in Canada after graduation. In
Hartford there is the Alliance Française that is quite active. I
recently found out about the group, so I am going to look into the café
sessions and the lectures that are given. I haven't traveled back to
France since leaving, but I do miss the language and the culture very
much. I still keep in touch with a number of people that I met while
living there, so I shall hopefully be back next year. (2007)
Kristen
Murphy (Baker 2007)
is a Professional French
Master Program (PFMP) candidate at the
University of Wisconsin at Madison (concentration in European Affairs).
Here is her latest update: I just
found out where I'm going for my internship. I'll be interning with M. Trocard in
Bordeaux (in the Fronsac appellation) at his Chateau in Saillans! I can't
believe it! I'll be there from 30 July to 30 October 2008 (so I'll help
with the vendage and the mise en cuve)! Plus, I'll have lodging onsite.
M. Trocard is a negociant and vigneron. Plus, our coordinatrice des
stages, Patrizia, is still in talks with the Office
National Interprofessionnel des Vins. They work on the appellation system in
France and are located in Paris. I might be able to intern there from
November 2008 to January 2009, because I ideally want to spend 6 months
in France for my internship. So all of this is very exciting! My family
is planning on a trip around France in July and then they'll drop me
off at the chateau. As Prof. Ritt Deitz said, this is a first for a
PFMPer- to have lodging in a chateau! (2008)
Steven
Nadeau (Cartier 2006) has had a long journey since graduation.
Here is the update he sent us in February 2007:
After graduation May 2006, I moved to Newport and worked at The Mooring Restaurant all summer as a server while I was searching for
a position that would start my career. After months of searching, I decided to come to NYC without really any plan other than to find an
apartment and a job. I subleted from a friend of a friend, then dog-sat for a friend of a friend so that I had a place to stay, then I was
couch surfing at multiple friends apartments (Thank you Stacey!!). November 1st I started working a temporary position at Credit
Lyonnais Securities Asia (CLSA) from 6am - 9am printing copies and organizing their research library. Then November 9th I started working
temporarily in the Watch Marketing Department at Cartier's corporate headquarters for the rest of the day. When my assigment was over
in the Watch Marketing department, I started another position in the Jewelry Marketing department. December 1st I FINALLY found a
decent apartment in Manhattan's East Village. I am not sure which task was more daunting in NYC, finding a job or finding an apartment.
Since November I have been working 60+ hour weeks between the job at Cartier and CLSA, while still tenaciously pursuing full-time
permanent employment. I would interview all the time, would never be extended an offer because most companies would say that I was
"over-qualified" meaning that I had good qualifications, but moreso that I would be extremely bored in the position because of my extensive
travel etc. Other companies would tell me that I was underqualified for the positions that I was interested in because I lacked an internship
and/or professional work experience. That coupled with my family and I not having any contacts in the working world made things extremely
difficult. There is a lesson to be learned here: INTERNSHIPS ARE NOT OPTIONAL. I was always under the impression that it would be easy
to find a company to work for and that they would train me, so I never did an internship. However the truth is, companies lose money training
entry-level employees and that is why companies refrain strongly from hiring recent grads without internships or experience. I was working
with 14 temp agencies/ recruiters, was registered on every online job board, I tried networking as much as possible, and I was applying
directly to companies, and nothing was leading to full-time permanent employment.
THE GOOD NEWS...
My tenacity paid off and recently I was extended an offer to work in NYC at Calyon, the corporate and investment bank of the Credit Agricole
Group. They are flying me to Paris next week for training!!! The job is a great fit for me because I will be using French on a daily basis,
will be working for a French company, occasional travel, I will be working in finance in the Credit Markets division, and I will be working in NYC
(the best American city). This was the best offer because it fulfilled many aspects of what I was looking for.
I was able to submit my resume directly to HR at Calyon because I was a temp at CLSA, which was the next best thing to having done an
internship.
Some resources that may help others:
----Accent is a recruiter that specializes in permanent and temporary work for people that speak other languages (they got me the job at
Cartier)
Accent International
274 Madison Avenue
15th Floor
New York, NY 10016
212-779-3333
----Solomon Page is a recruiter that specializes in permanent and temporary work for various industries (they got me the job at CLSA)
Solomon Page
1140 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
212-824-1560
----www.linkedin.com this website is a business networking website. It is particulary useful to find a contact name at the company you have
applied to. For example I got an interview at Bank of America after applying for 2 years to their Analyst training program. In linked in I
searched for "HR Bank of America NYC" and found the vice president of HR's name. I called the VP of HR and within a week they were
calling me to set up an interview!
Feel free to contact information Steven Nadeau if you have any questions.
Morgan O'Hara
(Rochambeau 2004) lives and works as a Marketing Coordinator
for a sales and marketing firm in Norwalk, CT after several years in
Laguna Beach, California.
Here is the latest update she sent us: I just moved from California to Norwalk,
CT (right outside of Stamford) in early October 2007. I loved
California, but it is nice to be closer to family and friends. As for
my work situation, I was lucky enough that my company simply
transferred me to our CT branch, so I have essentially the same job but
run East rather than West accounts. I work for a marketing company that
runs all Unilever products (Skippy, Lipton, Dove, Caress, Ragu, etc.)
promotions in supermarkets. (2007)
Derek
Oliveira
(Yourcenar 2005) sent us the following update at the end of
October 2005: I am working at PTC in Needham, Massachusetts as an Associate
Technical Support Engineer. I will be helping to support Pro/ENGINEER,
which is a 3D solid modeling CAD software. PTC was looking for people
who spoke Portuguese to support their customers in Brazil, so when I
told them I was trilingual, they were extremely pleased.
Michael
Peckham (2003) is a first year J.D. candidate at the Florida Coastal School of Law in
Jacksonville, Florida. (September 2006)
Alexis Percival (2002) now lives in
New York City after a year in Marseille, France. Here is her latest
update: I'm living in Hell's
Kitchen NYC, which is much lovlier than it sounds. I work for a company
called J. Pocker & Son on
the Upper East Side, we are custom picture framers for high end art and
deal with large Interior Design firms. We also sell artwork. I am happy
to report that I'm taking a class at the Alliance Francaise with
Thierry Bidault, who used to work for the world bank, among other
places. The class is Conversation economique et politique 450, and it
is intense but great. I would encourage any alumni in NYC to register
for classes there, its very impressive and not too expensive. The
facilities are amazing and the people are terrific, and I've found it
to be a good place to network. (2006)
Allison
Petit (Piaf 2008) was hired by the French Ministry of Education
to teach
English in Guadeloupe, French West Indies during the academic year
2008/2009.
Heidi
Phelps (Rochambeau 2004) graduated in May 2007
with a MA in French
Literature at the University
of Kansas. After teaching French at the University
of Rhode Island for one semester, she was hired by the French
Government as Assistant to the Cultural Attachée of the Consulate of France in Boston.
Here is her update: On January 2nd
2008, I started my new position as the Assistant to the Cultural
Attachée at the French Consulate of Boston. I am unbelievably excited
about the work that I will be doing here. My main responsibilities
include writing the Consulate's bi-monthly newsletter, which highlights
upcoming French cultural events throughout New England, drafting
letters and speeches, writing French to English translations, and
various administrative tasks. I am also helping to coordinate "La
Journée de la Francophonie" at Milton High School, an all-day event
with activities promoting French language and culture that will take
place in March 2008. I have been here for a little less than a week
now, but I have already learned so much. It's so great to see
that there are so many local institutions keeping Francophone culture
alive and well in New England. (January 2008)
Sarai
Pryor (2003) works for Rhode Island Hospital
in Providence, RI. (2007)
Freya
Recksiek (2001) lives in Paris, France and works as interpreter
and
translator. She is a graduate of the prestigious Ecole Supérieure
d'Interprètes et de Traducteurs (ESIT) at the
Sorbonne. (2007)
Monica Reynolds (Cartier 2006) lives
in Santa Barbara, CA, where she works as Undergraduate Advisor for the department of Spanish and
Portuguese at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
(August 2007)
Adilson
Ribeiro (Yourcenar 2005) is
currently employed as computer engineer at Cerner Corporation in
Kansas
City, Missouri. He sent us the following update: I am gradually adapting to Kansas City,
Missouri. I like it so far. Work is going
well, I've been learning a lot about the Health Care industry. I
currently work as a software developer for the cardiology team (also
known as CVNet). Our job is to implement software solutions that will
be used in hospitals by nurses, physicians, cardiologists, etc. I
really enjoy that aspect of it, because I know that whatever I do today
will have an impact on someone else's life tomorrow. From what I've
gather so far, there are a lot of opportunities here at Cerner for one
to build a career. Cerner is gradually expanding to other countries
(especially Germany and France). In fact, about two weeks ago, I had
the opportunity to use my French skills. I was asked to translate one
of
our software solution into French. That's a start and I hope that in
the
future, I'll get use it more often and who knows I might even get to
travel to France occasionally! (December 2005)
Luis
Rodrigues (Yourcenar 2005) taught high school
English in Clichy, France in 2005/2006. He is currently a Master
candidate in Clinical Social Work at Rhode Island College.
(November 2007)
Marie
Rolfe (Yourcenar 2005) is a professional beach volley player.
She travels the world with her team, Dig Deep part of the
year and teaches Middle School French in Toronto, Canada, the rest of
the time. Check out her latest update HERE. (2007)
Fain
Melanie Robert (Rochambeau 2004) is currently teaching in
Lincoln, RI but is leaving soon for the U of Arizona in Tucson
to get her MA in Art History. As Melanie states "they require a French
language test in order to earn the MA. I should have no
trouble!" (April 2008)
Patrick
Sharkey (Cartier 2006) lives in Shikoku, the smallest of the
four main islands of Japan. He is currently engaged in a year-long
contract with a school district, teaching English to 12-15 years old.
He plans to go back to France next. (2006)
Laura
Sharp (Cartier 2006) is working as a donor specialist at the Rhode Island Blood Center in
Providence, RI. Soon she hopes to go to Physician Assistant School and
is currently applying to schools all over the east coast. (2006)
Ginny
Sorrell (Cartier 2006) has been working for two years at Rhodia's Novecare division at
their North American headquarters in Cranbury, NJ. She has now decided
to go to Law School. This is the update
she sent us in May 2008: I've decided to
attend Georgetown in the fall. It was a really tough decision and I had
a lot of great options. I was not only admitted to Vanderbilt, Duke,
and Georgetown, but offered scholarship money as well. I told Rhodia
last week that I will be returning to school in the fall and they seem
supportive. It currently looks like I will be home-officing out of
Indianapolis for the summer in order to wrap up my current projects.
Colleen
Stadelmann (2002) works in the Corporate Audit Staff of General
Electric. After several months in Mexico, and in Le Creusot,
France, she is now based in London, England (September 2005). This is
what she was writing us
in April 2005:
I just wanted to give you an update to
where I am. I'm
in Le Creusot (tiny town in Burgundy.)
There is very little English spoken here so they had to send someone
with a
decent level of French and apparently I qualified. It's great for
practicing my French since I'm the only auditor here and I can only
really
converse in French with the people in the business here. It's only an
hour and 20 min from Paris
by TGV so I have spent the last 2 weekends there. I'm in France
until the end of May and then we're all reassigned again (as we are
every 4
months.) I'm having a good time so far - the hours are long and
demanding,
but it's a great experience and I'm learning a lot.
Alison Svenningsen (Rochambeau 2004)
is working for Gilbane Building Company
in Providence,
RI. She
practices her French dealing with
a steel company from Quebec that no one else can
communicate with in her office. (March 2005)
Kelli
(Burrier) Tautic (2001) majored in French and Elementary
Education at URI. She currently lives in Windsor, Connecticut with her
husband, dog, and two cats. She teaches fifth grade in West Hartford,
Connecticut. (2006)
Heidy Tavarez
(Yourcenar 2005) works for Citizens Financial Group
and is a very generous donor to the Black, Blanc, Beur Scholarship
Fund.
She is also a Executive MBA candidate at URI. This is
what she wrote us in November 2005:
Specifically, I
work for the Auto Finance Division and primarily focus on generating
business as well account management. I get to interact a lot with upper
management and executives within the division and I get to learn a lot
from them. I am very happy with this position and hope to grow within
the company. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to utilize my French
where I'm at, but needless to say I am definitely looking forward in
the future to be able to use French with whatever position I do obtain.
I am currently getting ready to get back into the game and get my MBA
in Business Administration at URI. Wish me luck!
Actually, I do have
a story to share with you. There was an instance where a lady who
worked in the building was trying to communicate with the security
guard but wasn't able to becasue she spoke french/creole. That's when I
was actually coming in through the door after my lunch break and came
was stopped by the security guard, asking me if I spoke spanish because
she couldn't comprehend what the lady was saying. So I said yes and
asked the lady if she spoke spanish and she said no.Then she said "Non,
je parle français." I was actually so surprised and excited at
the same time because here I come to the rescue and I'm able to use my
French.
I wish the best of
luck to all the students who graduated with a BA in French and to all
of those who are in the process of obtaining one!
sincerely,
Heidy Tavarez (November 2005)
Kristy (Thistle) Yankee (2001) now
lives in Plainville, MA. She teaches French in Franklin. Here is her
latest update: My year has been
crazy, since May I have: finished my master's degree, moved to MA
(Plainville-near the Wrentham Premium Outlets), took 30 students to
France, got married, and started a new position. Whew! I am still in
Franklin, but I am only teaching three classes... I got promoted to
Director of Foreign Languages for the district! (October 2007)
Nicole
Verrier (Cartier 2006) lives in the Washington DC area. (2007)
Luke
Wallace (Yourcenar 2005) lives in Northern Virginia. Here is
his most recent update: Since
graduating I've worked for a small consulting firm in Northern
Virginia. This month marks my third year as an analyst with the
company. During my employment I have been promoted and have become the
subject matter expert in a variety of fields. I am also the local
office's go to guy for French translation. When I look at how far I've
come since my first year at school, I realize I could have never gotten
to where I am had I not signed up for French 101. PS: When I retire I'm
moving to Marseille. (January 2008)
Jennifer
Wendell (Rochambeau 2004), a graduate of the NYU Publishing
Institute in Book, Magazine, and Electronic Publishing lives in New York City where she works
for DK Books. This is what
she was
writing us in May 2005:
I have a job
now! A real one...like with a salary and
all that. It's pretty exciting. I'm
a Mass
Market Sales Assistant at DK Books. To find out
more about what kind of books they
publish, check out http:/www.dk.com. It's mostly
reference books. We do a lot of board books for
kids and
readers. We publish ultimate
guides for various films. Basically, I
coordinate between the sales
staff in the field who are
selling our products to places like
Costco, K Mart, Target, Hudson News, etc. The position is a great
starting point for a publishing career, and
I'm pretty excited at where it could take me. I
started on Monday, and while the week has been pretty stressful, I've
already learned so much more about the industry than I knew before. So
it
appears as though I'm staying in New York for quite some time. If
anyone manages to find
themselves here, drop me a line,
and we can grab some coffee or
something. I've also taken up knitting,
which I find to be quite relaxing and enjoyable in general. There's something about making something with
your hands that is completely and totally satisfying. I
think I'm also going to try to teach myself
either Latin American Spanish or German. I found
these book & CD kits at work that
no one's needing. All I have to do is put them
on my ipod and
voilà, commute turned lesson (think David Sedaris' Tapeworm essay). I think
they'll lack the
enthusiasm of a Dr. Rogers or Durand course,
but hey, I'll take what I can get!
Jenn's latest update: I got a new job with the same
company. I’m doing marketing now for licensed titles that we
publish. It’s a lot of fun, but there’s so much to do and so much
traveling that I’ve been bad at keeping in touch with folks.
(May 2008)
Liz
Wilson (Yourcenar 2005) lives in Brussels, Belgium where she
received a Master in Communications and Technology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Here
is her latest update: Life is very
busy for me these days. I have been living in Brussels for almost 2
years now. I have a job working for a reinsurance service
company. English is the business language but I speak mostly french
with my colleagues.
I am getting used
to 'belgicismes' like 'septante', 'tantot', and the constant
usage of 's'il vous plait'. Recently the city has been buzzing
with
celebrations of the
50th anniversary of the 1958 World's Fair. I hope all is well with
everyone at URI. (2008)
Angela Wyche (Yourcenar 2005) taught
English in Brest, France during the academic year 2005/2006.
THE BA IN FRENCH,
DON'T LEAVE URI WITHOUT IT!
To become a French major,
no paperwork, no
office visits, no hassle, just write to adurand@uri.edu and that's it!
|
