French Essays Earn Two Students a Trip to Paris

Hollister
– This summer, San Benito High School graduates Stephanie Davin
and Sarah Mullen will be packing their bags for a voyage à
Paris.
Hollister – This summer, San Benito High School graduates Stephanie Davin and Sarah Mullen will be packing their bags for a voyage à Paris.

But it’s no typical tourist trip.

Davin, 18, and Mullen, 17, won the trip from the French consulate after being chosen for their essays – written in French – on curbing effects of global warming.

The fourth-year French students will be staying at a Paris university and learning about the country’s take on the environment and science.

“I was so excited (to find out I won),” Mullen said. “It’s going to be cool to see a different country’s view of the environment.”

Davin and Mullen are two of three students from the West Coast who won a spot on the trip. They will be joined by other winning students from around the globe.

Advanced Placement French teacher Michele Lassaga urged them to enter the contest.

“I’m so proud of them. We gave them the opportunity, but it really is all their doing,” Lassaga said.

Besides proving their French writing skills, the students also had to interview in the language with the consulate in San Francisco.

“I was really nervous at the interview,” Davin said. “It was really hard to speak because everyday talk is different, but I didn’t know a lot of the words for global warming and the environment.”

Although both Davin and Mullen previously have been to Paris, they say they mostly are looking forward to seeing the Palace at Versailles.

Mullen said she also looks forward to meeting other students.

“We’re going to be able to meet students from all over the world. It’ll be really interesting,” she said.

She added that it would help improve her French because that will be the language all the students have in common.

Davin and Mullen both plan to minor in French when they start college in the fall. Mullen said she felt prepared by her education at San Benito High School.

“The French program is really good here,” she said.

While the trip undoubtedly will be educational, both students said they are eager for a good time and to experience the Paris culture while there.

“I’m looking forward to the pastries,” Mullen said.