|
UNC Pembroke
Makes a French Connection
 |
|
| |
|
Pictured
left to right:
Front Row: Provost Roger Brown, Richard Bowers, CESM Director and
Chancellor Allen Meadors.
Back Row: Dean Ken Clow, Dr. Alex Chen and Paul Flantos. |
|
|
|
The photos from
Paul Flantos' studies abroad last summer look like postcards from paradise.
The senior business
major spent last summer as UNC Pembroke's ambassador to the famed Provence
region of France.
UNCP signed this
fall an agreement with the school to send more students in the future.
Mr. Flantos spent
five weeks at the Center for Advanced European Studies in Management
(CESM Mediterranee), located in the Mediterranean port city of Marseilles.
He received nine hours of credit for courses in international business,
European culture and French language.
He had the time
of his life.
"The class
work was very intense during the day, but there was plenty of time to
travel and enjoy Europe," Mr. Flantos said. "The best part
is the friends you meet."
The Lumberton, N.C.,
native has traveled this fall to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to reunite
with friends he made in France.
"We are all
very different, but we did very well as a group," he said.
Back at UNCP this
fall, Mr. Flantos is hard at work taking 21 hours. He plans to graduate
in May.
To pay for his study
abroad experience, sacrifices were necessary.
"My mother
helped be out a lot," Mr. Flantos said. "But a large part
of my trip was underwritten by Visa and MasterCard."
"Lots of my
friends said I was crazy, and it is a sacrifice," he said. "But
I had a wonderful time, and it was worth the cost."
This fall with Mr.
Flantos at the table, Chancellor Allen C. Meadors and Associate Vice
Chancellor for International Programs Alexander Chen signed agreements
to pave the way for more students to study at CESM.
"Opportunities
like the one Paul took advantage of will change an individual's perspective
on the world we live in," Chancellor Meadors said. "Experiences
like these are so enriching, not only from the academic sense, but from
cultural, social and personal aspects."
"Every day
events occur - good and bad - that make us realize we must learn to
live as a global society," he said. "Having more students
study abroad and bringing more international students to our campus
will prepare our graduates for the world they will live in."
CESM Director Richard
Bowers was on hand for the signing ceremony to make the school a formal
part of UNCP's International Programs. The director said CESM offers
more than international studies.
"One of the
aspects that makes the program so exciting is the cultural and out-of-class
experiences the students receive," Mr. Bowers said. "This
is a historic French city located in a Mediterranean setting where you
get an authentic, warm feeling from the people."
"The accommodations
and the people are great," Mr. Flantos said. "The weather
was perfect every day, and it is a beautiful location."
The students had
a variety of travel opportunities that found them in Paris, Barcelona,
Amsterdam, Cannes and other locations.
Mr. Flantos does
have one regret. "I should have stayed two-weeks longer and taken
the internship program."
The cost of the
five-week program is $1,500, including room and board. Transportation
and additional travel is extra.
To learn more about
International study opportunities at UNCP, call 910.521.6205 or e-mail
beth.carmical@uncp.edu
.
Return
to University Newswire
|