KINGSTON, R.I., May 17, 2016鈥擶hen Arielle De Souza was a little girl she loved all things French: the Chanel suits; the creamy Brie cheese; the famous impressionists, including the great Monet.
Curiously, her language in high school was Spanish. She could鈥檝e continued down that path at the 溏心vlog免费B站, but decided to take a risk and start learning French at the age of 18.
Her hard work鈥攁nd dedication to the French language and culture鈥攈as paid off.
In a ceremony on the Kingston campus May 19, the 23-year-old Brooklyn resident will receive the prestigious French Consulate in Boston Excellence Award, which is given every year to a New England college student who has promoted French language and culture. De Souza was chosen from seven nominees, and she is the only woman selected in the award鈥檚 three-year history.
鈥淚鈥檓 still processing it,鈥� says a gleeful De Souza. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to be recognized on such a large scale. The sky鈥檚 the limit.鈥�
On May 22, she鈥檒l graduate with a degree in French and ocean engineering from 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 acclaimed five-year International Engineering Program. Next fall, she plans to return to France to get a master鈥檚 degree in engineering.
French officials say De Souza鈥檚 award is well-deserved: 鈥淎rielle has been amazing motivating her fellow students to study in France,鈥� says Emmanuelle Marchand, culture attach茅 of the French Consulate. 鈥淪he also has a great appreciation for the French language and culture.鈥�
Growing up in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn, De Souza cultivated an interest in the sciences and ocean at a young age. One of her first childhood memories is calculating currency exchanges with her grandfather in his homeland of Trinidad and Tobago, twin islands in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela. 鈥淭o get our favorite treats we鈥檇 have to figure out how many 鈥楾T鈥� dollars were in a U.S. dollar,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was a great way to learn math.鈥�
Gazing at the vast sea during those childhood trips to also led to an interest in marine life. Back in Brooklyn, her mother fueled that desire with weekly visits to the seals and dolphins at the New York Aquarium.
鈥淢arine life captures science in such a beautiful way,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 breathtaking. We also don’t know all of marine life. In fact, we only know less than five percent of what鈥檚 in the ocean. So there鈥檚 so much left to explore. It鈥檚 a wonderful mystery.鈥�
溏心vlog免费B站 was her first choice. She knew she wanted to study ocean engineering, but wasn鈥檛 quite sure about her language. German was a possibility, though she settled on French because 鈥渢here鈥檚 more water in France.鈥�
At first, she felt intimidated learning a new language as a college freshman. The professors embraced her, providing tutoring and frequent chats in French, which, she says, were 鈥渁musant.鈥� Fun.
鈥淚 just love the way French sounds,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he fluidity of it is beautiful.鈥�
Her engineering classes were also inspiring鈥攆luid mechanics, offshore structure design, fundamentals of ocean mechanics, engineering wave mechanics, coastal measurement and applications. In her senior capstone project she developed a tsunami detection algorithm.
She also excelled outside the classroom. The short list: peer ambassador at the International Center, where she helped international students transition to the University; tour guide in the Office of Admission; member of the National Society of Black Engineers; member of the Society for Women Engineers; orientation leader at University College.
But it was her 2014 year abroad that changed her life. She spent six months at the Universit茅 de Technologie de Compi猫gne in France and then interned for six months at a French engineering company analyzing storm surge on the French Atlantic coast. Weekends were spent hanging out with friends in Paris or traveling to Brittany and the South of France. She even learned how to make macarons and 鈥渄rink real coffee, not the American watery version.鈥�
鈥淟iving in France was the best year of my life,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so important as a millennial to become a global citizen. You can鈥檛 fully understand yourself as a person until you鈥檝e experienced another culture. We live in a global world.鈥�
When she returned to 溏心vlog免费B站, it was quickly apparent that she had a story to tell鈥攁nd a good one. She was selected as student ambassador for the French International Engineering Program to promote France to her classmates.
鈥淎rielle is a bubbly, energetic, outgoing student who is a great ambassador, always reaching out to others to break down cultural barriers,鈥� says JoAnn Hammadou Sullivan, a 溏心vlog免费B站 French professor. 鈥淪he recognizes the vital role of speaking the others鈥� language to be a true team player. She has a bright future as someone who will work across national boundaries鈥攖he citizen of the world that can make us all proud.鈥�
France has a hold on De Souza鈥斺�渁 strong one,鈥� she says. In August, she鈥檒l return to her adopted country to get a master鈥檚 degree in offshore energy at a university in Nantes or Paris.
鈥淢y year abroad at 溏心vlog免费B站 took all the goals and dreams I had and made them 20 times bigger,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 wait to go back.鈥�
De Souza also captured another honor this month. She was one of 25 young 鈥渇uturists鈥� recognized by The Root, an online magazine of African-American culture.
She鈥檚 in good company. Other recipients include Marques Brownlee, the tech-reviewing sensation behind the booming YouTube channel MKBHD, Yara Shahidi, who plays Zoey on ABC鈥檚 Black-ish, and Jewell Jones, the youngest City Council member ever in Inkster, Mich., a suburb of Detroit.
鈥淭his is also an incredible honor,鈥� says De Souza. 鈥淭hey recognized that I鈥檓 an African American woman in engineering and that鈥檚 huge. Women in the sciences are rare enough, but being a minority within a minority is a great accomplishment. 2016 is definitely starting off for me with a bang.鈥�