Meet 's 3 French Exchange Students
Above photo: French exchange students Manon Sirisouk, Augustin “Gus” Audouin, and Hapsa Dia walk through campus at . The three are at on an exchange from the University of Poitiers for the Spring 2016 semester.
Poitiers is a historical city in west-central France, where one in four of its residents is a student. Manon, Gus, and Hapsa are all studying political science back in France, but each one has a very different career goal. Manon wants to use her education to work on pressing issues of inequality in France, while Gus is drawn to sports journalism and Hapsa wants to become a professor of international affairs. Despite their vastly different career pathways, all of them agreed that coming to Bethlehem, PA to study at was an extraordinary experience. They would recommend it to any French student thinking of studying in the United States, or to any international student for that matter.
“The people here try to make you feel like a part of the community,” says Hapsa.
Manon’s advice to incoming students is to “get involved as much as possible with clubs and activities on campus. It’s a great way to meet people and discover new ways of doing things.” Despite the fact that Gus will not miss the food here, he did meet his personal goals of becoming more independent in a new culture and improving his English. They all agreed that is like a big family. Hapsa summed up their sentiments saying that “the people here try to make you feel like a part of the community.”