Eastern Student Sabreena Croteau '16 of North Kingstown Spends Semester Abroad in Paris

2014 Oct 13

Today, more than ever, our world is interconnected. To be successful -- personally, intellectually, and professionally -- students must become "global citizens," skilled at interacting in and between multiple cultures and capable of analyzing issues on a global level. Eastern Connecticut State University's Study Abroad Office offers students a variety of opportunities to study internationally. For those students who take advantage of it, the experience can truly be life changing.

Sabreena Croteau '16 of North Kingstown, RI, recently completed a semester study abroad in Paris. Croteau's major is Political Science and History.

For history major Sabreena Croteau, walking the streets of a city that she had only read about in her textbooks enhanced and enriched her classroom lessons.

"Studying history abroad opened the doors to all kinds of opportunity. After all the time I had spent sitting in various history classes talking about people, events, and ideas from places I had never seen, I wanted a chance to experience all these places first hand," said Croteau, who spent a semester in Paris. "The city sort of just becomes your classroom. In fact, one of my classes was spent half in the classroom and half at various museums and other historic sites. How many times in your life do you get to say you're late to class in the Louvre?"

Croteau was also able to teach alongside a professor at the international program. She helped in a classroom, offering lessons on American history to a group of French students. The experience made her aware of language barriers and differences in a way that she hadn't expected. "The class was fairly proficient in speaking English, yet speaking to them was very different. I had to watch how I said things, making sure I didn't use idioms and turn-of-phrases that they wouldn't understand," she said. "It was also very interesting for me to talk to a group that knew so little about American history, since I'm used to being around Americans who know the basics from grade school."

On the weekends, Croteau enjoyed traveling throughout Europe. She visited other cities in France and countries such as Spain, Italy, Belgium, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Morocco. "It was a great chance to experience all these other cultures, even if it was just for a few days," she said.