Bonjour à tous ! My name is Gala Den Regalario and I am a rising junior at the University of Pittsburgh pursuing a double degree in three majors: French, linguistics, and marketing. I am very excited to have the opportunity to apply and expand my varied skillset through the International Internship Program in Paris, France.

At first glance, my studies may seem fairly unrelated. The very first question I seem to get asked in response is: Why?

For the most part, it stems from my long love for the arts. Ever since I was a child, I have always loved expressing myself through various visual and musical arts. I began drawing at six years old and have played the violin in school orchestras from 1st all the way to 12th grade, though I tend to dabble in various mediums and crafts such as polymer clay, acrylic paint, crochet, sewing, etc. Moreover, having other creatives and musicians in the family, as well as being from the Northern Virginia area, meant that my life has always been filled with color, music, and museums.

From there, it was my English courses and childhood books that brought me to build an appreciation for the literary/language arts. While I would not say that writing and reading is my favorite activity (ironically) I did and still do like improving my skills in this area, especially as I grew and became more interested in more music, shows, video games, and and webcomics–mediums that use both visual/musical and literary storytelling techniques. They are a lot of fun to analyze because there are so many layers to uncover!

Naturally, I started to get into learning foreign languages as I got more interested in art and media from other cultures. Nothing too heavy, just some studying of different alphabets and basic phrases on apps like Duolingo (as a side note: did you know that they are based in Pittsburgh? while I have many differing opinions on the brand, I will admit that a tiny percentage of my decision to study here was because of this fact 🙂 ). And when I had the opportunity to begin French or Spanish courses in middle school, I picked one and enjoyed it enough to keep taking courses each year. I do not remember the specific reason why I chose French. In a funny way, there just seemed to be a point where I looked back and felt I was too far in to stop. I think I may have intuitively felt how a language isn’t something you can easily forget if you’ve studied for enough time, even if you don’t make use of it or practice your skills often.

My interest in marketing developed alongside this, though on a separate track. With the rise of the internet leading to a digital space where people can connect to find community, share their creations and skills, and facilitate commerce, it is more accessible to experience art as both consumers and producers. However, this shift has also devalued artists’ labor to various extents. How often do you think about how many hours went into editing when you watch a YouTube video? Into animating your favorite childhood movie? Sewing your shirt together? There have been so many advancements in technology that help artists work faster and faster, but at the end of the day, there was still someone who had to learn how to use that technology. (Not to mention how earnings can be difficult in the beginning for both freelance and junior corporate artists.) Unfortunately, I felt that pursuing art was a risky choice for me as I was not sure if I would truly enjoy creating after getting over these types of struggles.

Still, through occasionally selling my creations and researching what being an artist full- or part-time might be like, I came to understand the art world through a business lens. I noticed how marketing played a much larger role in working artists’ lives; it’s not exactly a necessary skill, but it is incredibly helpful at establishing one’s brand to get through to people, whether it is online or in-person.

It wasn’t until I began working part-time fashion retail jobs in high school that I began to consider exploring a pathway related to communications or language. A path that could incorporate my creative background in various ways. Not only do my majors allow me to explore my creativity in new, more specific ways through communication (and studying how we communicate), they also helped me realize how large the gap between the arts, language, and business world can be at times. There are so many benefits to learning a language (or a craft) outside of increasing one’s hireability. On top of that, linguistics is still not very known by most people. Simply put, we study how language works and evolves, from acquisition to production, processing, comprehension and second language learning. Understanding the inner workings of language and how humans use language can help in a multitude of fields, and I would love to either incorporate it into my marketing work or encourage more students to learn about linguistics. I hope that I will be able to bridge this gap after graduating, and this internship is a major step towards preparing for this goal.

While I was originally looking for a placement in marketing, EUSA just so happened to have a linguistics contact. I was told not to be too hopeful, but they would try to reach out and send my resume over. And after some weeks and a successful interview, I ended up being incredibly lucky enough to have the opportunity to intern at Mundolingua, a linguistics museum located in the 6th arrondissment! It is a small museum housing various educational materials and documents related to linguistics and language, owned and run by Mark Oremland. I still almost cannot believe I was placed here, but I am looking forward to finding the connections between running a museum, a business, related to linguistics and language education.

I hope that this opportunity will allow me to make more connections who share my interest in linguistics/language related businesses, especially educational establishments such as museums! It also seems that the flexible nature of my position might allow me to suggest a few new marketing ideas. I would love to design a few flyers or social media posts for some of the museum’s guest events and learn how to be more confident in collaborating in a small group. Finally, I am looking forward to the various projects I will get to work on that will prepare me for future work in marketing and other creative and communication related pathways.

I am sure that each day will be a lot of fun and I am very grateful to have this opportunity! I am eagerly awaiting my first day.