Bianca Blanchard

Bianca Blanchard

My name is Bianca Blanchard and in April 2014 I graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and a certificate in European Studies. I first heard of the certificate program in the fall semester of my junior year while I was sitting in Prof. Markus Thiel’s class learning about European Politics. By then I had already realized how much I enjoyed studying European culture, literature and history and so I decided to enter the program. Who would have thought that this would be one of the best decisions I would ever make during my time at FIU? Not only had I already completed some of the course requirements for the certificate by taking core International Relations classes but through it I was able to enrich my education with networking and internship experience. The first opportunity which was presented to me through the certificate program was my internship at the Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excellence under the supervision of associate director Christine I. Caly-Sanchez. Mrs. Caly was a pleasure to work with. As a student assistant, I helped her organize lectures and roundtables on European politics and culture during which students were able to meet European ambassadors, ministers and consuls. She taught me how to plan out room reservations, flyers, sign in sheets and email notifications to professors and students studying Europe. During my time at the MEUCE, I was thus able to encounter many European officials, one of which was Ms. Sophie Delporte, Head of the Public Affairs Department at the French Consulate in Miami. Given my fluency in French, this opened the door for me to complete an internship there as an apprentice translator and news reviewer. I got to work with the Consulate Press attaché Mrs. Cluzet-Bertot, meet the French Consul General Philippe Létrilliart and even shake the hand of one of the French ministers while he was visiting! Choosing to pursue this European Studies Certificate as part of my undergraduate career was one of the best decisions I made for myself while at FIU and I would recommend it to anyone who’s interested in studying Europe.