Two weeks in France?!? Free? Did you say FREE?

Remember last year, when 20 Park students had the opportunity to go to France for two weeks in May?

Remember what an amazing, life-changing experience they had? (Well, if you don't remember hearing about that, you can take my word for it. Really, it was a great time.)

Well, I'm happy to tell you that we're doing it again. This spring, in May 2007, twenty Park students (majors only) will join Professor Kim Gregson for a two-week trip to Dijon, France (with a few side trips to places like Paris).

And it's free. You cover airfare (today, with student discounts, it's about $500), we cover everything else.

Here is how it works...

The Park School has a partnership with the Burgundy Business School in Dijon, France. Under the terms of the agreement, a Burgundy student receives tuition assistance to study at the Park School; in exchange, a group of 20 Park students is invited to visit Dijon (and Paris, Geneva, and Strausbourg) for two weeks at the end of May – all expenses paid except for airfare.

Here are the names of last year's 20 lucky winners.. (and sorry, but they're
not eligible to go again this year... )

Jesse Borrell, junior
Lucien DeLaBruere, freshman
Michael Demarast, freshman
William Feldman, sophomore
Matt Gogal, junior
Hillary Gozigian, junior
Michael Hubbard, junior
Susan Kraus, senior
Heather Lew, senior
Ana Liss, junior
Marissa Lamb, senior
Amanda Morrissette, junior
Lindsay Piccotti, senior
Laura Rowett, freshman
Michelle Rueda, freshman
Sean Servis, junior
Christine Szudzik, senior
Abigail Lisa Valovage, sophomore
Michael Wechsler, senior
Nicole Zachringer, sophomore

-- The trip leaves New York after graduation on Tuesday, May 22, 2007, returning June 5 or June 6, 2007 (we're still finalizing the details).
-- The group will fly from New York City to Paris. Participants will be responsible for paying their own round-trip airfare (although nobody who is selected to participate with be excluded because of finances).
-- The Burgundy Business School will be responsible for all other expenses (except, of course, your discretionary spending money). It will pick you up at the airport in Paris, and take care of you for two whole weeks -- including lodging, food, transportation, and a full itinerary of events and activities.
-- The schedule will include museum tours, day trips, media visits, lectures and social events with international students studying at Burgundy.
-- The schedule also will include free time to explore Dijon, and surrounding areas OR travel to London, Amsterdam, Munich, etc. Your expenses on that kind of wider European excursion would be your responsibility, but your expenses if you stay in Dijon will be covered by the school.
-- The schedule will also include a visit to Paris. Burgundy will cover all of your expenses on that trip.
-- The group will be accompanied by Kim Gregson who will be coordinating the trip over the next six months and during the two weeks you’re in France.
-- The trip will be offered as a learning experience that DOES NOT require you to enroll for academic credit. We are doing everything we can to keep the costs as low as possible, and we are sensitive to the fact that many students cannot afford to buy a summer-school credit. Those students who need or want academic credit can make arrangements with the faculty member for independent study.
-- In exchange for this opportunity, you will agree to participate in a project documenting your experiences while in France. Those materials will be used to promote the trip in future years. AND you will promise to be the absolute best representatives of the Park School you could possibly be so we will continue to enjoy this partnership with the Burgundy Business School for many years to come.

This year, we can take up to 20 students to France. Obviously we expect many more students to express an interest in participating. So here’s what we’re going to do:

Monday morning, January 29, there will be forms in the rack OUTSIDE the Dean’s office on the third floor of Park. Stop by, fill out the form, sign it, and hand it in to Gwen at the front desk in the Dean’s office.

One submission per student ONLY. (We do check before drawing names, and anyone who submits multiple forms is disqualified...and yes, it happened.)

We’ll be accepting forms until 5 p.m. Wednesday. That means you have from 8 a.m. Monday through 5 p.m. Wednesday to put your name in the drawing. No exceptions.

If you're studying abroad or in LA, you can email April Korpi at
akorpi@ithaca.edu, expressing your interest and providing her your name, address in Ithaca, telephone number, class, and the type of documentary work you are best able to produce (writing, video, photography).

Questions about the trip should also be directed to April, but ALL students currently on campus in Ithaca must submit the paper form to the dean's office. If you're not here, you're sick, you're working an internship and can't get to the dean's office, ask a friend to fill out the form for you. Sorry, no exceptions on this one; we're trying to be fair to everybody.

On Thursday, we’ll review the forms, make sure we have all the information we need on each form, and put them all in a box.

We’ll select 20 forms – lottery-style. By applying, you're committing to the trip, so please don't apply unless you're sure you can go.

And the winners will be off to France in May!

(Isn't it fun to be a Parkie?)