Photography

Being able to study abroad has always been my dream ever since I was young. Although it hasn’t all been perfect, the opportunities I've been given to embrace the life of a local have been amazing. I didn’t think I'd be able to integrate myself into the general public here, especially because of the language barrier, but I was given the chance to give back to my exchange school in a creative way that helped me in my courses as well, and made me really feel like I was finally fitting in.

I saw that my school here, ICN Business School in Nancy, France, was looking for a student to take photos of the area to show prospective students. I saw it as a way to give back to the school and help future students, so I was eager to do it. As it turns out, no one else offered to do it, so I was able to capture the beauty of France, and even the surrounding countries as I was able to travel and take more photos in those areas, and know future ICN students would see my work. However, I never thought these photos would help me in the classroom.

As it turns out, many of the cute, picturesque buildings and locations I had ignorantly taken photos of were extremely important to French history, which I learned in my French Economy course. Although it was a history course, we learned about a lot of history since those two topics are often deeply intertwined. After the lecture when he explained their significance, I was able to show my professor my photos and gain even more insight into our course material and its background. Because of my giving back to the ICN community, I actually gained even more knowledge than I otherwise would have.

I love being able to help others and do services that would otherwise be forgotten or go unnoticed. As it turns out, my photography skills were ones that ICN needed, and I ended up even better off in the classroom for it. Throughout my life, and especially in this instance, I’ve learned being helpful always circles back and helps me out too in the end.

Below is a collage of my work!