Coucou! My name is Olivia, and I am a current senior at Pitt. I study Accounting with a minor in French. My interest is particularly in auditing as a profession and look forward to starting my career in public accounting after graduation. Outside of class, I enjoy running, hiking, trying new food, and watching movies.

My last fall semester of my time at Pitt will actually take place on exchange in France. I am participating in the International Bachelor of Business Administration program at Kedge Business School in Marseille. I have always had the goal of studying abroad during my time at Pitt, but after changing majors my sophomore year, I did not think it would be possible as I did not have any general education credits left. To my surprise, after looking into the options available from the Pitt Business Global Experiences office, I discovered that it was feasible to make it work with my major requirements.

I hope to improve my language skills during my time in Marseille. I have spent a lot of time studying the language, but this will be the first time that I will have a chance to really immerse myself. I also hope to push myself out of my comfort zone. Being in a new environment can challenge my existing norms from the US, and I would like to keep an open mind to new ideas and perspectives.

My program requires you to find your own housing. Admittedly, this was an area of much stress this summer. I ended up in an apartment with my own room and bathroom with a shared common area and kitchen. I share it with 5 other people in my flat. It was daunting at first to live with people of all different cultures that you have never met, but it also is a great way to meet new people. I live within the city, but our school is within a national park on the outskirts of the city. My commute to school consists of a ride on the tram with a connection to the bus that conveniently has a stop right at our school. It takes about 45 to 50 minutes. The school being in a national park means that there is also an amazing view right from the classroom window… it’s a next break from the wonderful sights of continuous construction in the Burgh.

I took the train into Marseille from Paris. While studying abroad is very exciting, I was a bit too overwhelmed to enjoy the fact that I was here at first. It sort of hit me all at once that I would be living somewhere new for a whole semester. I had about one night of anxiety until the excitement came back into view. Marseille is a very interesting city. Streets lined with graffiti and art, stunning beaches just a hike away at the Calanques, and lots of flavorful food. Being here has really helped me to make sense of why the Marseillais consider themselves from Marseille before being from France. I look forward to taking you along for the journey!