Summering in France: Students to Study Abroad
PARAMUS, N.J. – Six Bergen Community College students will study abroad in France this summer during a two-week bootcamp program as part of the Community Colleges in France Bootcamp initiative.
Offered by Villa Albertine, the French Institute for Culture and Education, the students will participate in experiential learning projects while exploring different cultures and networking with other community college students.
Bergen students Waad Sidahmed, of Belleville; Matthew Luciani, of Cliffside Park; Angela Mae Villaroman, of Bergenfield; Jordan Rodriguez, of Little Falls; Mujtaba Ali, of Mahwah; and Enrico Crescimbeni, of Ridgefield Park, will each receive a $1,400 scholarship from Villa Albertine, along with financial support from the Bergen Community College Foundation to attend the bootcamp. Students choose from four universities and two areas of study (business and sustainable development and artificial intelligence) to explore during their time abroad.
Amparo Codding, the College’s international student counselor and study abroad coordinator, said the initiative will help students develop a global perspective.
“Any experience that challenges the students' view of the world helps them learn more about themselves and what they are capable of doing,” she said. “Sometimes the study abroad experience makes the student change academic and career paths based on this one experience.”
Among the attendees, Luciani, a political science student, said he will spend his summer at the Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne studying business and sustainability.
“As someone who studies political science and environmental science,” he said, “I wanted to take advantage of further resources and studies into understanding the ways other countries are currently advancing efforts in our environment and legislation, which is assisting marginalized communities and providing new opportunities for youth to play a larger role in this field of study.”
Villa Albertine, the French Institute for Culture and Education, is a division of the French Embassy in the United States. The organization crafts projects and programs aimed at making the French culture and language accessible to U.S. citizens, including the Community Colleges in France Bootcamp initiative.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 13,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
Photo Caption: Enrico Crescimbeni, Mutjabi Ali, Matthew Luciani, Jordan Rodriguez, Angela Mae Villaroman and Waad Sidahmed.
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