Catherine Fauteux, ‘07
Redding, CT

Catherine Fauteux is a History major and Film minor who spent a year abroad with the IES Rome Program in Rome

Being abroad for a year has made me so independent: I traveled an entire week through central Europe without speaking any of its languages fluently; I learned how to cook full-course meals on a gas stove having never before been able to light a match; I know that I can go home from the Vatican to my apartment on foot in under two hours!  I also learned that no matter how awesome sights, and sounds, and smells, and tastes that I experienced, they are rarely as rich as when they are shared with other people, whether newly made acquaintances or old friends visiting from home.

When:  My junior year (2005-2006).

Why did you choose to study abroad: I had heard from other students who had gone before me that the kinds of experiences you have as a study-abroad student are invaluable to your growth and change.  I was most curious to learn and to live using a language other than English because to me it was the most insightful way to another culture. I could not truly experience a country unless I could understand and speak with meaning its mother tongue.

What language did you speak:  Italian and English.

What did you study: Architecture, modern art, and film.

What next: I would like to go back abroad to work and to attend graduate school eventually. Traveling and living abroad constantly opens windows in my mind that I did not know existed.