This piece was written by Le Flambeau Foundation Scholar Danice who recently completed his second year of college in the U.S.. He made the Dean’s List! Danice is an alumnus of THE SPARK of Le Flambeau program. He is majoring in Business Administration (Finance & Accounting) with a minor in Economics and is now officially a junior. Bravo!
Dear friends from Le Flambeau Foundation ,
I am rather happy and excited to send out these notes providing some thoughts about my spring 2015 semester at Berea. It’s so surprising to see me already being a junior at college and coming closer to graduation in May 2017. Praise be to God.
This semester helped me realize that I am a typical college student. I used a lot of strategies to have successfully made it to the end of this last spring semester. As usual, the struggle was still real.
Some of my classes required much more sacrifices than I expected. For instance, I took a class about Appalachia and Creative Writing that turned out to be really challenging. Writing was not always my passion, but this spring semester really erased this sentiment. Now, I can tell that I am more passionate about reading and writing than ever. I was really challenged in these classes to write and read again and again, and I am proud to tell about it.
Another tool that helped me out was time management. I can tell that I become stronger now because throughout this semester, I was able to control academic, labor, and leisure activities with a high level of self-commitment.
I have been this student who was active not only in the classroom, but, I was also active in doing my job as a Resident Adviser, assuming my leadership skills and initiatives, and yes, without forgetting to spend some time at the gym -doing physical exercise. Berea is a place where a student without high conviction can easily fail holding on to their dreams due to high academic and environmental pressures. I can say I am a champion at facing such situation.
I successfully completed this spring semester with a small boost in my general grade point average instead of all difficulties that I met on my path.
Now, it’s summer time again. It turns out that holidays is not enjoyable at all here at Berea due to limited number of students on campus. I will be taking a second four-week class during the summer (going from June 8th to July the 2nd). I am also working on campus (Resident Adviser) during the entire summer with the few residents that may be living on the campus of the university.
After different attempts, I did not have the chance to succeed either one of the internships that I applied to. I really wished I could be doing something more practical this summer -but I am making it a goal for next summer or this winter as well. Suggestions are welcome.
Overall, I am liking the life that I am living here as I can tell that every day brings something of new that I can testify about as part of my life’s experience at Berea. This would actually not be possible without you guys, from Le Flambeau Foundation . The gratitude is inestimable through words only.
Warmest regards,
Danice Lefranc
To read earlier articles written by Le Flambeau Foundation Scholar Danice (click here), (click here)
To assist with the internship opportunity Danice references please send an e-mail to info@leflambeau-foundation (paid internships only)