Gabriella Rogers: French, Linguistics, and “Global Resident”

Merry Christmas everyone! Let’s meet Gabriella Rogers today!

After graduating from TPS in 2022, she went to Aix-en-Provence, France to study French language and culture at Aix-Marseille University. Upon completing this year-long program in 2023, she began her bachelor’s program in Linguistics at the same university. Prior to moving to France, she called a number of different countries home. She has two younger sisters and a younger brother. Her sisters, Isabel and Lydia, both currently attend TPS and are also engaged with clay. Her hobbies include watercolors and sketching, as well as baking. She has recently taken up the harmonica and thoroughly enjoys practicing in her free time.

Christi: How many years were you in TPS?

Gabriella: I took classes with TPS starting in 2017 from 8^th to 10^th grade. For my 11^th grade year, I attended boarding school before returning to TPS for my senior year.

Christi: What countries have you lived in before?

Gabriella: I have lived in Kuwait, Jordan, the Philippines, and the US. I’m originally from South Carolina in the US.

Christi: How do you think living in different places and now living in France has influenced you?

Gabriella: It’s not always comfortable to live in a completely different culture and environment. Especially when I first came here to France. I have to use French to communicate with people. It was very embarrassing at first, and I didn’t really want to talk. But after a while, I just accepted the fact that I would make mistakes and that doesn’t matter. I felt more at ease with the fact that things did not go super well. I think living in different places kind of allows me to get more comfortable with being in uncomfortable situations.

Christi: Why did you decide to go to university in France?

Gabriella: I can have the opportunity to improve my skills in French and learn more about linguistics here. On the other hand, to be honest, I think it is very practical. The bachelor’s degree in France is only three years instead of 4 years like in the US. And it’s a lot cheaper!

Christi: Cool! I also want to go to Europe to study in the future. One of the reasons is almost the same as yours! So, you must be very good at French. How many years have you been learning it?

Gabriella: I took French 1, 2, and 3 with TPS from 8^th to 10^th grade. Last year, I spent a year learning French here at Aix-Marseille University. It was kind of like a gap year because I didn’t begin my bachelor’s program immediately after high school, but first attended the language program at the university.

Christi: Why did you choose to study linguistics in college?

Gabriella: I actually thought about studying archaeology when I was in high school, but I figured out that if I ended up wanting to go into that field, I could just get my Master’s in archaeology. Even though French is the only language other than English that I actually speak, I have studied a few different languages throughout high school. And I have always been interested and enjoyed studying languages, so I thought why not try linguistics!

Christi: Do you have a focus area in linguistics?

Gabriella: This is just my first semester, so I haven’t really figured out a particular interest in the field, but I do enjoy the idea of historical linguistics, such as doing research on old languages that aren’t used anymore. And I picked a foreign language to study, which is Farsi, the language of Iran. I think that is really interesting.

Christi: What was your dream when you were in middle school or primary school? Was linguistics the major you wanted to study when you were younger?

Gabriella: For the majority of my childhood I wanted to become an opera singer. I studied voice for a while in middle school, but I didn’t want it to become work, though I enjoyed singing, so I decided to study something else. I just went with linguistics.

Christi: Since now it is Christmas month, what is your plan for this Christmas?

Gabriella: I plan to go to visit my family. They are currently in Senegal, and I haven’t been there before.

Christi: Which course in TPS do you think was the most helpful to you?

Gabriella: Definitely Apologetics with Mr. Wiiki. It really gave me a better understanding of the foundation of my faith. Also, it prepared me for conversations and questions about the Bible and theology.

Christi: What advice would you give to younger students?

Gabriella: For most of the time I was in high school, I had no clue what I would do, what my interests were, and where I would go. When you’re in that place, it can be really stressful. But the Lord eventually does the plans he has for you, and you will end up where you need to be. That’s what I feel like. Everything just worked out for me to be able to come here. I think it’s very clear to me that this is where God wanted me to be. If I got the opportunity to talk to myself in high school, I would say that you really don’t need to stress about it. Just put your effort into what you’re doing at the time, do the best work you can do, and ultimately, the Lord will lead you where you need to go.

Christi: Thank you so much!