Four Summers: A Reflection

Without a shadow of a doubt, working as an intern at the European Center was the highlight of my time as an undergrad at Tufts. I had the incredible privilege of spending four summers living and working in the Priory alongside many people who I now consider amongst my closest friends.

Tufts programs in Talloires exist at a unique crossroads where the lines between France & America, school & summer and students & faculty are wonderfully blurred. English majors play volleyball with physics professors and their families on the beach. Students join French bands in performing at the local music festival. Biology classes hike through the mountains, foraging for ox-eyed daisies and wild strawberries.

My first summer in France, I remember helping comfort a student who was in tears with anxiety about being placed into a host family. That same student was in tears again six weeks later when she had to say goodbye to her newly discovered family in the French Alps.

Talloires will always hold a special place in my heart, and I realized pretty quickly that I am not unique in feeling this way. Over the course of the time I spent working at the Priory, I met Tufts in Talloires alums who named their children after local towns, I met married couples who had gone on first dates down by the lake as students in the program and I met Tufts grads who chose to settle down in the area after graduating.

If you have the opportunity to spend time at the European Center, take that chance to learn, grow and experience some of the magic for yourself!