Where are you from, and where did you grow up?
I was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, and I attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, for my undergraduate degree, in communication studies and French.

Do you feel at home in Paris?
I was lucky enough to visit France with my family pretty often while I was growing up, and I moved to Paris to work in marketing for a Belgian brewery in 2016, so I feel very much at home here. It definitely took a bit of time to adjust, but once I was able to fall in with the slower pace of life and learn to laugh at some of the frustrating or strange experiences that every foreigner feels when living abroad, it became a lot easier.

What classes in your program have you enjoyed? 
This semester I have really enjoyed Fashion, Identity, and the Body, with Professors Morna Laing and Marco Pecorari. We have a different guest speaker every week, and the course looks at how ideas about the body are constructed through fashion and culture. In my first year, I really enjoyed Fashion History and Mediation, with Antoine Bucher, as well as Curating Fashion, taught by Laurent Cotta, a curator at the Palais Galliera. In this class, we had the opportunity to see the archives of the Palais Galliera, which was an unforgettable experience for me, especially since collecting and archive practices are areas of study I hope to pursue even after graduation.

What internships have been helpful to you in working toward your research goals?
This past summer, I started an internship with the French fashion magazine L’Officiel, where I've been working with their digital archives. From this experience I was able to develop a thesis topic that focuses on one of their sister publications, L’Officiel Art, which is an arts magazine created in 2012. My goal is to unpack how the relationship between fashion and art materializes in an arts magazine as opposed to a fashion magazine. I’m still developing the topic, but it’s been great to have access to the magazines through L’Officiel and to develop working relationships with some of the employees there. This upcoming summer, I have an internship planned with the Palais Galliera through the French Heritage Society, which I’m really looking forward to as well.

Are you enjoying working on your thesis?
At first, it feels quite overwhelming, but right now is the fun part, where I get to pick through my primary sources and really look closely at the magazines and decide what I want to say and what I want to look at. Luckily, the program does a good job of keeping students engaged and on track, so I haven’t felt too far behind yet.

Do you have any hobbies?
While living in Europe, travel has been one of my favorite “hobbies,” but with COVID-19, that has become quite difficult, so I’ve been trying to throw more of my efforts and spare time behind causes that are important to me, particularly with organizations supporting the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States and in my hometown specifically, which is in a very conservative Midwestern state. Beyond that, I’ve just been reading a lot, whether it’s for thesis or for my own personal enjoyment. It’s a good way to pass the time in confinement. I’ve been trying to learn to cook, but the results have been pretty awful, so that’s on the back burner for now. I think, like everyone else, I’m just very much looking forward to the days when confinement is over and the cafés reopen, because sitting on a terrasse with friends is one of the most important, and most fun, cultural experiences you can have while in Paris, at least in my opinion.

What advice would you give incoming students?
My advice would be to try and learn at least a bit of French before coming to Paris. It’s not necessary per se, but it will make your life a lot easier! I’ve also found it really important to ask for help and develop relationships with your peers and professors early on. Although two years may feel like a lot, it really flies by quickly, and those relationships will be important while you’re here but also after you graduate. All of the professors in the program are accessible and willing to help in any way, which has been one of the main reasons I’ve really enjoyed the program.