Shelby Boling found her passion for the French language while she was in high school. She decided to follow that passion to UL Lafayette.
鈥淲hen I started to study French in high school, I discovered a passion in myself that I didn鈥檛 know existed,鈥 she said. 鈥淨uickly, I became attached to this language that felt so natural to speak!
鈥淐onsequently, I was motivated to make this love for the French language into a career for myself,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 also became more interested in the declining state of French in Louisiana and the efforts to preserve it. I thought UL Lafayette would be the perfect institution to help me realize my ambitions.鈥
Shelby鈥檚 expectations were met in the Department of Modern Languages.
鈥淚 think the French program at UL Lafayette is in a unique position that no other American university can quite match,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e, as French-learning students, have access to a unique kind of French that is spoken nowhere else in the world.
鈥淚 think the opportunities to learn about Louisiana French and speak Louisiana French with natives is a quality that no other university can achieve,鈥 she said. 鈥淭his facet of the French program was definitively one that I highly valued.鈥
Enhancing her French Degree
As someone with many interests, Shelby has also earned credit toward two minors: art history and medieval and early modern studies.
鈥淚f French was my first love, art history was my second,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 think that to study art history is to attempt to understand how the events of history affected people, the way they think, and ultimately the way they express themselves. This concept is something that is wholly appealing to me.
鈥淎s for the medieval and early modern studies minor,鈥 she said, 鈥渢hat is another one of my special interests.
鈥淚 think people of the Middle Ages can sometimes be more easily likened to the modern person than, perhaps, people think,鈥 she said. 鈥淢y first semester at UL Lafayette I took the UNIV 100 course, Women in Medieval France. It really unlocked for me a new perspective on a time period that is very often misunderstood.
鈥淚t is essential to look to the Medieval period when trying to understand the evolution and origins of the French language,鈥 she said. 鈥淭his minor was very complementary to my major.鈥
鈥淚 would say these two minors helped me understand something fundamental about how people work,鈥 she said, 鈥渨hich is a skill I value highly and will utilize in my career as a teacher.鈥
Preparing for a Career in French Immersion
Shelby will go right into her master鈥檚 program once she graduates. She chose to continue her studies with UL Lafayette鈥檚 degree with a concentration in French immersion, which will give her the qualifications to teach French immersion in public and private schools.
The Department of Modern Languages and the University鈥檚 culture as a whole have prepared Shelby for her future career.
鈥淏esides providing me with the education that I need to achieve my goals, I鈥檝e also learned how to work with people more effectively,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e learned to work in a team, how to manage a group of people, and how to be understood.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a real invaluable skill of communication that can be developed through a university experience like the one I鈥檝e had,鈥 she said.
