Columbia College spotlight stories: Columbia College study tour to France

May 16-29, 2011 trip is open to any member of the Columbia College family.

The Columbia College Study Abroad program is sponsoring a trip to Paris, Normandy, Nice, Avignon, Biarritz and the Loire Valley from May 16-29, 2011. Any member of the extended Columbia College family is welcome: alumni, faculty and staff, family and friends.

Tour participants will see the sights of the Paris area– the Louvre, Notre Dame, Versailles– but also travel to Nice on the Côte d'Azur, the Grotto of Massabielle in Lordes, Amboise Chateau, a perfume factory in Eze, a Loire Valley wine cellar, the Roman amphitheatre in Nimes or Arles and the papal palace in Avignon.

Participants will also experience a dramatic day trip to Normandy to see the D-Day beaches, the imposing clifftop fortress of Pointe du Hoc, the American Cemetery overlooking now-tranquil Omaha Beach and the Caen-Normandy Centre for History and Peace.

Students may choose from 11 three-credit-hour undergraduate-level classes such as Impressionism, travel writing, French biodiversity and enology (the science of wine and winemaking).

Scholarship opportunities
Scholarships of up to $1,500 are available to any Columbia College student meeting the requirements. Recipients must serve as Columbia College global ambassadors abroad and following their return, must document their experience through a journal, blog or photos. They will also be expected to work a minimum number of hours for the study abroad coordinator to promote the program to other students.

Any student -- Day, Evening, Nationwide and Online campuses – may apply. Online students should carefully consider whether they can perform the required functions, however, and Nationwide students will be expected to meet post-trip obligations on their campus and within their community.

The online registration deadline is Jan. 26, 2011, but registration by phone is open until Feb. 25. Interested students must file a scholarship application by Feb. 4, 2011.

The price of the tour is approximately $3,768 per person, including round-trip airfare from St. Louis or your nearest international hub and first-class, superior tourist class or tourist class hotels (these feature private bathrooms, not standard in many French hotels). A non-refundable deposit of $150 is due at the time of booking. Airfare may be higher depending on your starting destination.

France Trip FAQ

Career booster
Tami Lorenson, who graduated with a degree in business management and international business with a minor in political science from Columbia College in 2009, participated in a London Study Abroad program. She has also traveled to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Belize, the Bahamas and Mexico. Lorenson now works in International Student & Scholar Services at the International Center at the University of Missouri, helping non-immigrant foreign scholars, usually teachers or researchers, with the often torturous visa process.

She says that during her London sojourn, "We were encouraged to notice and understand the differences in communicating in various cultures … London provided the perfect atmosphere to observe and experience these differences, as there is a wealth of different cultures in London. From the many free museums to the great ethnic food and ease of travel to other countries London, along with the rest of Europe, is a hotspot for cross-cultural exchanges and learning."

And would she recommend a Study Abroad experience?

Definitely, she says.

"Having this study abroad experience helped me secure my current job and will continue to help me for the rest of my career," Lorenson says. "Studying abroad is also great for networking because you meet students and faculty from all over the U.S. and world.

"In today’s world a study abroad experience is vital for building your resume," she adds. "A lot of employers see this as being just as or even more important than an internship … This is especially true for jobs that have any sort of international components, which includes most jobs today."

Columbia College is a member of the Missouri Study Abroad Intercollegiate Consortium (MOSAIC), previously known as the Missouri London Consortium. In this program, students from member schools take courses taught by faculty from consortium members. After offering only programs in London for many years, the consortium has added several new locations for the summer of 2011: