GRADUATING FRENCH MAJOR WILL TEACH IN FRANCE AND WORK AT STATE DEPARTMENT

Colton Seigel ’18 majored in French and government and politics with a minor in history.

Colton Seigel, ’18 French and government and politics, history minor

What are you doing after graduation?

I will be traveling to Bordeaux, France to participate in the Teaching Assistant Program in France, a program that places recent, English-speaking graduates in primary and secondary schools throughout France to teach English. I have already been offered a full-time position in the State Department in Washington, D.C. upon my return to the U.S. at the end of the 2018-19 academic year.

How did your time in the College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU), both in the classroom and outside of it, help you with your post-graduation plans?

At ARHU, I did not have to sacrifice a single one of my passions. I was able to study French and history and complete a second major in government and politics from the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. The experiences I’ve had interacting with advisers and instructors both inside and outside the classroom taught me the resourcefulness and self-awareness I needed to cast my net as wide as possible. My advisers and instructors also helped me embrace all the wonderful, albeit sometimes unabashedly challenging, experiences one encounters in life.  For me, some of those experiences included living alone in a studio while I studied abroad. Or never having a moment of insecurity during my final semester about what my next step would be post-graduation. And for that, I am eternally grateful to ARHU.

What are some of most memorable experiences you had in ARHU?

My French classes with Herve Campangne and Elena Lozinsky. In a league of its own, however, was my semester abroad in Nice, France!  Also, I will always remember working recruitment events for prospective students and their families with Darius Greene as an ARHU Ambassador.

What is one of the best classes you took?

History 408N: “Debt, the First 3000 Years” with John Weisweiler.

What is the one thing you think everyone should know about studying in ARHU?

The soft skills that are honed in the arts and humanities are truly those that change the world.  The arts and humanities provide substance, purpose and depth to the human experience we all share.

Want to share your plans?  Email Kate Juhl at kjuhl@umd.eduwith your information (photo is optional).  Please be sure to fill out the ARHU Grad Survey when you know your plans at gradsurvey.umd.edu.  The survey is open for 6 months after you graduate.