{"id":146940,"date":"2019-03-25T07:58:36","date_gmt":"2019-03-25T11:58:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=146940"},"modified":"2023-06-27T13:02:16","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T17:02:16","slug":"education-abroad-preston-bogan-19-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2019\/03\/education-abroad-preston-bogan-19-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Education Abroad: Preston Bogan ’19, Paris, France"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UConn Education Abroad program allows students to gain rich experience in other cultures by immersing themselves in the educational and social life of another country. At UConn, more than 400 programs spanning 54 nations are available. In the 2017-18 academic year, about 19 percent of the graduating class had participated in one of the programs, well above the national average of 10 percent. More than half of those students had spent a semester or year in another country. Here is one of them.<\/p>\n

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Preston Bogan '19 (CLAS) near the Eiffel Tower. (Submitted Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"preston1\"<\/a>
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Preston Bogan '19 (CLAS) at the Palace of Versailles. (Submitted Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"prseton2\"<\/a>
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Preston Bogan '19 (cLAS) outside one of his favorite cafes. (Submitted Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"prseton3\"<\/a>
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Preston Bogan '19 (CLAS) during his trip to Athens. (Submitted Photo)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

Name:<\/strong> Preston Bogan<\/p>\n

Year:<\/strong> Senior<\/p>\n

Major:<\/strong> French<\/p>\n

Education abroad program:<\/strong> Paris, France, fall 2018<\/p>\n

Bogan, of Naugatuck, Connecticut, earned a pair of associate degrees in liberal arts and theater from Naugatuck Valley Community College before transferring to UConn. The French program at UConn was one of the reasons he came to Storrs, and a semester in Paris is one of the requirements for graduation. Among other possibilities, he is interested in returning to France to teach after he graduates.<\/p>\n

How did you grow personally by studying and living in Paris?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe live in such a connected world right now, that if you don\u2019t look outside your own comfort zone of what you think is the best way to do things, you are missing out. I think there is so much happening politically and culturally right now, it\u2019s important to look outside ourselves and see that there are different ways things can happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was there during the [Connecticut] gubernatorial elections here, and seeing the news coverage from back home with another perspective was really eye opening. We have this bias, we want things to work out our way. You look at things from a separate point of view \u2013 a way more objective viewpoint on politics and culture than you would when you are in the thick of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where else did you visit?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cA group of UConn students went to Oktoberfest in Munich one weekend. I also got a chance to travel to Amsterdam, Dublin, and Athens. And we took a lot of excursions in France and Belgium.\u201d<\/p>\n