By the time I submitted my final college application, I was exhausted. I was excited about  college (and excited about Princeton, once I was admitted and later enrolled), but the thought of  another four years of physics equations and research papers made me apprehensive. I started spending a lot of time on the Novogratz Bridge Year website, looking at photos of smiling participants and reading about a year of trekking and service and living abroad.  

When deciding whether or not I wanted to apply to Princeton’s Novogratz Bridge Year program, one of my major hang-ups was about my high school friends. I adored them, and they were all about to go to college — to choose a major, attend dorm parties and bond with roommates— and I wasn’t sure if I could do something so different from them. It would mean that I graduated a year later from them and that I wouldn’t be able to come home for breaks. At some level, it meant that I wouldn’t be able to relate to them and they wouldn’t be able to relate to me.  

I was so worried about this that I almost didn’t apply to the program in Senegal. When I did, and I was accepted, my excitement was tempered slightly by these fears. I spent the summer before I left buying a bug hut, googling Senegalese music, and trying not to feel left out as my friends picked out their classes. I don’t know if my 18-year-old self would be surprised by this or not, but those fears pretty much all came true. I kept missing the group FaceTimes because I was in a different time zone; I cried when I saw photos of all my friends together at Thanksgiving; I had a hard time connecting with them when I came home the following summer.  

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I don’t mean to say that I lost my high school friends — I am still incredibly close with many of  them, and I love now being able to trade stories about our professors and our college friends. In  some ways, my friendships with them are stronger than they ever were. Maybe if I hadn’t gone away, we wouldn’t be friends at all now. But choosing to take a gap year separated me from them  in ways that I still haven’t fully moved past. This separation very likely might have happened  anyway, as we all went to different schools and studied different things. But it felt unique to me,  as perhaps it does to everyone. At the very least, I was the first one to separate, and I didn’t get to  ease into it over the course of the semester or the year. Once I left, I was gone.  

Despite this loss — and it does still feel in many ways like a loss, as grateful as I am for my  continued friendships — I wouldn’t change my decision for the world. Before I left for Senegal I was so focused on what I stood to lose that I had a hard time picturing what I had to gain. That makes sense: what you might lose is real and tangible, while what you might gain is abstract and largely unknown. It wasn’t until I was there that I realized that the choice I had made was worth it.

Now, I wouldn’t trade any of it: picking up my little homestay brother from school, or making  pancakes on top of a mountain for my friend’s birthday, or running along the beach and through  the waves, or drinking cold bissap after finishing some hot ceebujen, or reading in the backseat of long and dusty bus rides, or carving watermelons for Halloween with my homestay family, or  eating beignets and oranges on the side of the road with my friends, or hiking past baobab trees, or returning to hold my godchildren for the first time. I wouldn’t trade a single one of those things.  

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I spent that year living a life very different than the one I had grown used to. I worked at an  organization called Empire des Enfants, a shelter for boys who had been living and begging on  the streets, and learned how I could live a life of service even when I wasn’t “doing service.” I  spent my days taking the bus to work and then coming home for lunch before heading off to  language class. On the weekends, I swam to beautiful islands with my group and watched tv with  my little brothers. Slowly, I was able to make new friends and form new communities. They  looked different than the ones I had before, but I began to feel at home in a new place. I promise  you, what you have to gain is wonderful.

I have always been fascinated by languages. I grew up bilingual, speaking Haitian Creole and French. Then, at the age of twelve, I realized that it would be cool to actually understand the songs of Akon which I was a big fan of: that's how I decided to start learning English. Later, in high school (coincidentally around the time Akon had hit pause on his musical career), I decided to move on to new horizons and started studying Spanish, followed by German. I think languages are cool, especially at Princeton.

At Princeton, every A.B. student has to pass the language requirement (i.e. demonstrating proficiency in a language other than English) before they graduate. There are many ways to fulfill this requirement. I, for example, took a French Placement Test the summer before I came to Princeton, which allowed me to place out of the language requirement. That meant I did not have to take any language classes at Princeton. But I still did! Why? Because languages are cool! Rather than starting with a completely new language at Princeton (which I might still do later on), I decided to keep learning Spanish for a while. I took the Placement Test for Spanish a couple of days after the French one and got placed into Spanish 108 (for Advanced Learners). 

I took the class last semester and it was amazing! My instructor was extremely kind, supportive and knowledgeable. My experience in that class was nothing like what I had seen in language classes before. Not only did the course focus on the development of the students' oral and written expression, but it also did so by engaging with interesting and thought-provoking material that explored the cultures, histories and politics of Spanish-speaking communities in the United States as well as the larger Hispanic world. The regular writing and speaking exercises encouraged me to frequently engage with the language beyond a superficial level in order to become comfortable expressing complex ideas in Spanish. All this in an encouraging and low-stress environment. I ended up doing very well in the class thanks to the incredible support I received from my instructor and my peers.

This experience reassured me in my decision to pursue a Certificate in Spanish, so much so that I am taking another Spanish class this semester: Spanish 209. In this course, we learn to analyze films in Spanish, which is a great way to improve my writing and speaking skills. It's also a great excuse to watch TV on the weekend without feeling guilty! I am only a few weeks in and I already love it! In addition to the language courses, Princeton offers other opportunities to get better in languages such as speaker events, internships abroad, summer language courses abroad, etc…

I truly feel that Princeton is one of the best places to brush up your skills in many languages or acquire new ones. Plus, you will want to take a class in East Pyne (the building that hosts most of the language departments): it is absolutely stunning! If you don’t believe me, come see for yourself!

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P.S.: If you have questions about any of the things mentioned above, do not hesitate to send me an email!

Princeton prides itself in offering a multitude of study abroad and travel options, and making those as accessible to everyone as possible.  While COVID-19 has suspended most travel, I find myself reminiscing about past trips, including one university-sponsored trip I took just last year.

My freshman seminar course, FRS 161, was a geosciences course taught by Frederik Simons and Adam Maloof.  Over the course of the semester, we were to work with climate data and MATLAB to explore how climate change affected Italian olive orchards, even spending our fall break in Italy gathering data in the field.  Of course, I jumped at the chance for free travel and worked hard on my application to the class.  To my surprise, I got in, even though I had no programming experience and admittedly struggled with science.  I later found out that Adam and Frederik had read all of our essays personally, and selected a group they thought would be enthusiastic and hard working.  I can attest to the hard-working part — a year later, and I still count that class as the hardest one I have ever taken.  

However, I was sure all the long nights spent at my computer would be worth it once the lab portion of the class came along.  While most Princeton students spent the last day of fall midterms preparing to visit home or sleeping off the late nights studying, I spent it frantically packing my duffel bag and racing to the bus our class would take to the airport.  A bus ride and a plane flight later, I was blinking in the late-morning sun in Naples, Italy, the warmth on my skin in stark contrast to the air-conditioned flight or the chilly October morning I had left behind in New Jersey.   

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Over the course of the eight days FRS 161 spent in Italy, we drove along the beautiful Amalfi coast, collected data from three different olive orchards (where we were welcomed with open arms and presented with gifts of olive oil), visited historic Pompeii and majestic Mt. Vesuvius and shared pasta with our hosts at an Italian monastery.  This was no vacation — we were in the orchards from nearly sun up to sundown, and spent nights doing data entry and modeling.  I recall hours spent calling out pH readings for my classmates to record as we worked by flashlight and headlamp late into the night.  But I also recall running into the cold ocean at the end of a long hike, gleefully grabbing all of the gas station snacks I didn’t recognize from home, and finding stray cats wandering among the ruins of Pompeii.

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Although the days of international travel and unmasked gatherings seem so far away, scrolling through the old photos reminds me that there was a time before this, and there will be a time after.  I eagerly await the day when I can once again apply for Princeton courses that promise international adventure!

Even before I arrived at Princeton, I knew that I wanted to study abroad. I have always been curious about travel and experiencing new languages and cultures. My initial plan was to study abroad in a Spanish-speaking country. I had studied Spanish throughout high school and was keenly interested in the culture and history of Spanish-speaking countries around the world. That said, my academic interests shifted and I decided to concentrate in Near Eastern Studies (NES). 

An essential part of the NES concentration involves studying the languages of the Middle East. As a result, after my first year, I used Princeton funding to travel to Israel to study Hebrew. I had an incredible experience and went back during winter break of sophomore year to continue my studies and then secured a summer job in Tel Aviv. After two language study abroad experiences and a summer spent working abroad, I thought that I would not want to go abroad for another semester. Studying abroad for a semester can seem intimidating. Not only do you have to manage the cultural differences that come with living and studying in another country, but you also must be prepared to leave behind your friends, activities, classes and everything else that feels familiar and safe about Princeton. 

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However, as I entered my junior year, I was offered an incredible chance to study abroad again — this time not in the Middle East but at SOAS University of London, a specialty school for Middle East studies. While it was tough leaving Princeton, I decided to put myself outside my comfort zone and had an amazing experience. Ultimately, while my semester abroad was cut short due to COVID-19, I am still grateful for the opportunity to have the experience.

While being abroad meant that I missed out on certain aspects of Princeton, it also meant that I got to have experiences that I never would have had inside the "Orange Bubble." I was able to pick from a wide variety of classes related to the study of the Middle East and be surrounded by a large cohort of like-minded peers. I had the chance to hone my language skills, live in a city and experience all of the vibrancy of city life London has to offer. I was joined by exchange students from all over Europe and the world. Some of my favorite memories are of late nights spent singing songs with my new friends, switching between English, German, Norwegian, Italian and more.

Finally, one of the most meaningful elements of my study abroad was the learning I got to do outside of the classroom. I did some of my research for my junior independent work in Oxford and Cambridge, and enjoyed seeing the incredible architecture of Scotland on a weekend trip to Edinburgh. I took the train around Europe — visiting the Swiss Alps, walking the streets of Paris and hanging out on the beach in Barcelona. I even managed to make it to Australia on one of our longer breaks from school. For someone who loves traveling, these experiences were truly priceless. 

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All in all, I am beyond grateful for the study abroad experiences that I have had during my time at Princeton. Each one has helped to show me the extent to which Princeton offers every student the opportunity to engage in learning in a variety of meaningful ways.

Being low-income and first-generation heavily influenced my decision to attend Princeton, but there is so much more about Princeton that makes me stay. 

Finances were the most important to me because I come from a low-income single parent household. My mother works for everything that my family has. Asking her to provide money for me to experience things like an unpaid internship or study abroad would be a lot for my family to handle, even though such experiences could help my academic, personal and professional growth. Princeton, however, provides many financially friendly opportunities such as Princeternships, study abroad programs, Breakout Princeton trips during breaks and PICS internships. Financial aid at Princeton is need-based, meaning the University awards students financial aid based on their individual needs. I chose Princeton because it afforded me and my family the financial freedom to help me further my academic endeavors. I could not in a million years afford to go to college without heavy loans, but with a generous aid package for undergrad, I can now think about attending graduate school.

Moreover, I also liked Princeton’s commitment to undergraduate education, the medium size of the school along with the student-to-faculty ratio. The resources at Princeton are unmatched. From the faculty who are hands-on in helping students cultivate their ideas and offering additional guidance during office hours, to the McGraw Center or The Writing Center; there is so much assistance, community and guidance tailored to each student’s needs. As a first-generation student, there is so much I do not know in terms of access, opportunities, finances, networking and even basic knowledge about jobs and fellowships. Being in a place with guidance and access to resources is important to me because it makes all the difference when you just don’t know what you don’t know. 

Why I came is important, but why I chose to stay is also of value. I chose to stay at Princeton because of the community, academic rigor and growth I've experienced here were unprecedented. I am very big on community and Princeton has provided me with the spaces where I am able to be myself while exploring different facets of my identity, the ways I learn and my academic interests. I feel like the spirit in the Black community here is truly special. We are all supporting each other and want everyone to win. I’ve met some of the most inspirational and motivating professors and students. I’ve also been able to travel to France and Puerto Rico during my time here even as a low-income student. Being at Princeton with financial freedom allows me to enjoy my college experience without worrying about money. I feel like I am where I'm supposed to be.

At the beginning of my first-year fall at Princeton, I told myself I was going to study abroad in France. How? I had no idea. Shoot! I was just aiming for the moon and hoping to land among the stars. I knew that Princeton offered summer abroad programs. I did not know how I, a low-income, first generation college student, was actually going to finesse my way into France. I had never been to Europe, but my “Take Me to Paris” wall decal and Eiffel Tower throw blanket may have suggested otherwise. We know how this story ends, because, well, I am writing this blog post. This is not your average I-went-to-France-and-took-a-picture-with-the-Eiffel-Tower story. Let me tell you about how a low-income student made it to France. The experience was priceless, but let's be real, the ticket was not. Let’s talk about the money.

After taking my last intro-level French course, I was eligible to apply for a Princeton in France study abroad program in Aix-en-Provence. This program offered four weeks of language immersion. Around the same time, I also applied for an internship in Paris – shocker – through the International Internship Programs (IIPs). This is open to all students without a particular class prerequisite.

Now, the money. I applied for funding for my trip to Aix-en-Provence through the Student Activities Funding Engine (SAFE), the funding source used on campus for students to apply for grant aid for thesis research, independent research, summer opportunities or even those specific to different breaks. Built into the cost of the abroad program was housing, food and the class. The flight ticket was not included in that cost, but through SAFE, students can apply for grants that may cover some, most or all of these expenses, depending on the grant. (It doesn't hurt to apply to multiple and hope for the best.) Different grants have different post-trip requirements such as saving receipts, sending letters to donors or writing a reflection piece. For the internship, IIP offers its own financial aid for eligible students, so I didn’t need to apply through SAFE.

Applying for funding in Europe for IIP was challenging because of currency rates. Make sure to check out conversion charts if you're going abroad! I did not want to play myself by doing a one-to-one conversion. Applying was not a long process, but it did ask for a breakdown of all expenses. This includes how much you expect to pay for housing, travel and transportation. Although I was not accepted into the IIP, a few weeks later, I was accepted into the Aix-en-Provence program with immaculate funding for the trip. It covered the cost of the class and some of my transportation. 

My trip to France helped me begin my journey towards managing my finances and being aware of my spending habits.  I explored a new country while exploring myself, my beliefs, values and morals. I also learned so much about being financially conscience and taking chances. Applying for financial assistance for my trip to France gave me the perspective to understand the expenses needed for a trip abroad and how to best allocate my funds. If you have any questions about my experience, please feel free to reach out to me or check out the Aix-en-Provence program.

Princeton offers a variety of different seminars that travel abroad during the fall break and spring break. I recently got the opportunity to travel to Russia for an urban studies seminar called “Moscow on the Hudson”. It was an enriching experience filled with daily walking tours around the city, discussions about famous landmarks and an understanding of the rich history behind Moscow.

During class we read literary and cultural texts pertaining to urban studies in order to understand the physical construct of both New York City and Moscow. We focused on a specific topic every week, all the way from religious institutions to public housing. We first traveled to New York City and visited different parks which we later analyzed during our in-class discussions.

In preparation for the trip to Moscow, I purchased a travel guide and made sure to pack my winter jackets for the cold weather. Once we arrived, we settled in and got ready for a week of intensive walking tours. We got to visit a cemetery where important literary and political figures were buried, The Cathedral of Christ the Savior (which was formerly a giant swimming pool), Zaryadye Park (a modern park that opened in 2017) and other fascinating sites.

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Surprisingly, the highlight of the trip was riding the metro. Moscow’s metro shines in comparison to New York City’s sometimes unpredictable subway system. It is easier to navigate, cleaner and each station is embellished with beautiful architecture which makes the metro a tourist attraction itself. Each station is different from the rest, so you never get bored by the changing underground scenery.

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In between the walking tours and later at night, we got to indulge on different cuisines. I must admit, I was not a fan of Russian food, since the options are limited for vegetarians like me. I did enjoy drinking tea and experiencing a new food culture. My favorite international cuisine was definitely Georgian food. Our first and last dinner on the trip was, in fact, at a Georgian restaurant, and I simply couldn’t get enough of it.

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Reflecting back on this trip, the major takeaway was my increased understanding on how Moscow came to be and a new lens with which I will approach cities I visit in the future. I visited sites and locations that I would have never considered going to if I were traveling by myself, learned how different groups of people inhabit the same space and started to think about the challenges faced by most modern cities, such as economic inequality.

This experience has been one of the highlights of my undergraduate career, and it wouldn’t have been possible without Princeton’s generous funding. I am also grateful to both of my professors for their active engagement and planning throughout the trip!

For me, the question of "Why Princeton?" is always a fun one to reflect on. In many ways, my journey here can be traced to a 6 x 9-inch flyer.

From a young age my parents impressed upon my siblings and I that education is a critical resource towards self-empowerment and that college is a step in that journey. However, growing up in a low-income family, we were also pushed to apply to scholarships just as intensely as we applied to university, if not more so. Without stifling our desires or pushing us towards any one school or type of education, my parents also encouraged us to take the realities of paying for an education seriously. Therefore, my college search kept me confined to public schools or schools that offered competitive student loan financing. Few people from my town ever ventured outside of the state for higher education let alone Princeton.

To be honest, I don’t remember even hearing about Princeton beyond the yearly rankings or in books that included anecdotes on the Ivy League. Applying to Princeton was surely the furthest thing from my mind. That is, until I received a 6 x 9-inch flyer. I still remember, to this day that the flyer read, "82% of students graduate debt free." And although I was not sure the black and orange colors would look good on me, I decided to throw my name into the application pool in the hopes that I could be one of those 82% and avoid the intimidating prospect of years of student debt.

Many months later, I found myself grateful with my acceptance letter in hand and a trip to Princeton Preview, Princeton's spring program for newly admitted students. I remember being amazed by the beauty of the campus and feeling overwhelmed by the campus' activities. I was already interested in pursuing my education at Princeton, but seeing the financial aid package put it over the top for me. It was eye opening to see that not only do people in my financial position receive extremely generous aid packages, but students whose family income was as high as $160,000 also receive full tuition coverage. Even more enticing, I no longer had to configure personal loan financing as Princeton’s financial aid system works on grants, which do not need to be paid back. Even when you are unable to avoid loans, there are a variety of subsidized and unsubsidized loan options. It has been a journey to understand all these financial aid terms and the ins and outs of the financial system, but the financial aid officers are very helpful in navigating the system and addressing any concerns I have had.

Outside of direct financial aid, I have also found Princeton incredibly helpful in attempting to minimize the ways that differences in socio-economic status affects the Princeton experience. I was not sure I really believed this until I had the opportunity to study abroad my junior spring. Princeton's policy is that socio-economic position should not inhibit students from such incredible opportunities and therefore students will not pay more for these experiences (study abroad during the academic year) than they typically do for Princeton. The result of this policy is the ability to work with financial aid for generous support of international opportunities during the academic year and the summer. A more personal result was that the financial aid assistance allowed me to enjoy my semester in France without any additional tuition, room & board or insurance costs. 

It is still surreal to me that Princeton came into my life via a flyer for financial aid, but I am grateful that it did. And now that I have more years under my belt here, my skepticism has given way to evangelism for the Financial Aid Office here at Princeton. They are not exaggerating when they say it is a big reason why Princeton stands out among its peers and is what makes this place so great. 

Editor’s Note: Financial aid figures reflect 2019-20 academic year.

One of the characteristics of the Bridge Year Program that surprises many people is that there isn't any formal academic coursework (besides language training). It is a year away from learning in the classroom and instead is focused on its core value of experiential service learning. This is a really valuable thing to do, but some people have asked me if this year away from academics makes it hard to return to school in the fall as a first-year student.

My experience in Brazil, a former Bridge Year location, was just the opposite. Far from making it harder to adapt back to academic study, I was excited to get back into the classroom! The senior year grind of college applications had left me a little cynical about my studies, but a gap year totally dissipated that feeling. A year away from homework and tests, was spent focusing on the real world. It gave me context and meaning to the work I am doing at Princeton. On top of that, with less time and high school curricula restrictions, I was free to read about and research topics during my Bridge Year that I was naturally drawn towards — which gave a lot of clarity to my thought about course selection when I finally arrived on campus.

Bridge Year is definitely not a vacation — we worked hard and learned a lot. But we were learning about the world and about ourselves. These lessons proved to be incredibly helpful when I arrived on campus. Far from making it hard to return to the classroom, my gap year experience greatly improved the quality of my academic work and life in my first year at Princeton.

I’ve found my summer home in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

During these months, I have two jobs. One is my internship in Thailand with a grassroots organization for Burmese migrants, and the other is my remote job for the Mapping Expatriate Paris project with the Center for Digital Humanities at Princeton. I’ve quite enjoyed life as a digital nomad. On the weekends, I bunker down at various bubble tea internet cafes to work on my Digital Humanities Project and to do research for my senior thesis.

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Both of these activities require access to the Princeton online network to download articles from virtual Princeton libraries or to look at the Digital Humanities archives.

The way that this happens? The Princeton VPN. I can do my research and work anywhere in the world and still have access to all of Princeton’s resources. Virtual access to Princeton libraries overseas is a huge deal. If you’re not convinced, try to find high quality articles on Old Norse sagas and archaeological records on Google! I need specific research articles for my senior thesis to get started while I’m traveling.

Because of the VPN, I’m able to participate in two incredible projects and prepare for my senior year. My summer is thus filled with hours at my grassroots organization, temples, Thai and Burmese language lessons, hiking, bubble tea addictions and brief periods where I step into the virtual Princeton library and lose myself in my research.