Bonjour!

My name is Marisa Vickers and I am currently a twenty-eight year old senior that is majoring in International Relations at Texas State University. Thanks to FEA, this summer I will be studying abroad for one month in France at the University of Rennes. I am extremely excited for this opportunity because I hope to improve my French speaking abilities and submerge myself in the French culture. I have chosen this program because I was particularly inspired by my experience volunteering and interning with a non-profit that services refugees from all over the world. After helping many of those families, I realized that with proper communication, the world can seem less large if we all take the time to try and understand one another.

Thus, upon graduation, my dream is to continue my work in the humanitarian sector by directly assisting those in need. If possible, I would like to focus my career on French speakers from African countries, as they contain a large number of refugees, including many of which are oppressed women and children. These issues are of great concern to me, and I believe that in order to be impactful in my chosen occupational path, I must do all I can to achieve a masterly level of fluency of the French language. Even though I am a first generation, bi-racial student that is married to an Army veteran, I have always been determined to complete my education regardless of any circumstance. I know that by studying abroad, it will be a wonderful step for me to someday take these developed skills and pay it forward by aiding those in need.