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CONWAY, Ark. (July 31, 2014) – Eight ���ϲ����� students recently completed four weeks of intensive French language and culture study this summer through the ���ϲ�����-in-Tours program.

The ���ϲ�����-in-Tours students include:

• Violet Coker ’15
• Dulcie Hanham-Gross ’16
• Alex Harb ’16
• Wesleigh Harrison ’17
• Savannah Herrera ’17
• Sophie Lidji ’17
• Gretchen McCarthy ’16
• MacKenzie Theall ’16

The students were accompanied by ���ϲ����� French professor Dr. Cathy Jellenik.

Students earned two credits at Tours Langues, which specializes in intense language study, with 20 hours each week of class time, as well as a minimum of 10 hours a week of engaged learning outside of the classroom.

“We had two “ateliers culinaires” (cooking classes), a tour of the city of Tours, visited le Mont Saint Michel in Normandy, St. Malo in Brittany, spent a weekend in Paris, where we visited the Conciergerie and La Sainte Chapelle, and visited several châteaux (Villandry, Chenonceau), as well as a wine cave dating back to the 4th century, 

Each visit was accompanied by reading assignments, and students were required to write presentations and dialogues related to the sites or to famous people associated with the location. 

“In Tours, for example, students did presentations on famous authors such as Balzac and Rabelais. In Paris, students had to study the metro system and then navigate the lines without help from me,” said Jellenik. “They were great.” 

"This has been the most breathtaking, eventful and enriching adventure,” said Mackenzie Theall, a French major. “I have accidentally learned so much!"

“I am so happy that I was able to participate in the ���ϲ�����-in-Tours program. Tours Langues provided a different learning environment than anything I have experienced before,” said Gretchen McCarthy, a French and Spanish major. “The professors and the atmosphere really boosted my confidence in speaking French, and for that I will always be grateful.”

Founded in 1876, ���ϲ����� is a national leader in engaged liberal arts and sciences education. For the sixth consecutive year, ���ϲ����� was named one of the country’s “Up and Coming” liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report.  ���ϲ����� is featured in the latest edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges, as well as the 2014 Princeton Review’s The Best 378 Colleges, Forbes magazine's list of America's Top Colleges, and the 2014 Fiske Guide to Colleges. ���ϲ����� has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit .