Exiting Exchange Students from UniLaSalle France Look Back on Journeys as They Bid Goodbye to Benilde
Exiting Exchange Students from UniLaSalle France Look Back on Journeys as They Bid Goodbye to Benilde
17 December 2024
Through the years, Benilde has established itself as a local higher education institution with global standards. This is why it is no surprise that it has secured partnerships with international institutions and organizations especially among other Lasallian schools. These partnerships aim to further improve partner institutions’ academic and professional benchmarks, with their students’ welfare at the forefront.
Such is the case of recently finished exchange students from UniLaSalle in France. Hailing from similar backgrounds and programs, the participating students are part of Benilde Global’s initiative to foster international education and cultural exchange.
According to De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Center for Partnership and Development Director Oscar Sherlo Reyes, Benilde and UniLaSalle France have been long-standing partners since 2008, working together to strengthen academic collaboration. A key component of this partnership is the student exchange program, which he says allows Benildean students to enroll in credit-earning courses and spend a term studying at UniLaSalle France. Similarly, UniLaSalle students have the opportunity to study in Benilde under the same framework.
“Similar to Benilde Global—the internationalization program of Benilde—UniLaSalle offers its own initiative called GoLaSalle. This program provides students with the opportunity to study for a term at any of UniLaSalle’s partner institutions worldwide,” Reyes gives context. He furthers that students are guided on the diverse range of partner universities and countries available, allowing them to explore and choose destinations that align with their academic goals and cultural interests. “This initiative underscores both institutions’ commitment to expanding global education and fostering cross-cultural experiences for their students,” the director expresses.
This year, the latest cohort of eight UniLaSalle exchange students arrived in the Philippines last August 19 to embark on their enriching academic and cultural journey. But as with all programs, theirs have come to an end.
Elona Shricke, who studies Food and Health Engineering in France, says that she chose Benilde specifically for her exchange program because she wanted to cook in a different culture and that Filipino food was what convinced her the most. Although she experienced some restrictions as she is vegetarian, she shares that it was the cooking classes that she enjoyed the most during her stay.
A Nutrition and Health student at the Beauvais Campus, Gael Roustan cited that when he was taking a look at where he could pursue the exchange program, Benilde was an option he couldn’t resist. “In Benilde, we would be taught how to cook and learn how to eat [properly] in the Philippines; that was what I wanted,” he mentions.
Meanwhile, Violaine Jouffre’s motivation to go to Benilde was discovering a new culture and a new country. This is why when she and her friends have free time outside their Culinary Arts track’s classes, they would go around Manila and even visit neighboring provinces.
Steeven Beraud jests that it is also the country—the Philippines—that convinced him to choose Benilde among the many other schools they could go to, “The Philippines has beautiful beaches; it’s a beautiful country.” Here, he also studies Culinary Arts, which was another factor for his decision to choose Benilde because he loves to cook.
Gabrielle Ruffin-Duval also comments that an unforgettable realization she had from this exchange program, having been a Culinary Arts student, was that the sweetness of Filipinos when they welcome foreigners like her is also reflected in the food we cook.
Looking back on the exchange program in Benilde and her life in the Philippines, Elise Jounnais says the important takeaway she learned was to embrace spontaneity. “In France, we usually would plan a lot of things. Here, we just see what we want to do when we wake up,” she compares. This is something Elise says she likes, as it makes her lifestyle more flexible.
On the other hand, for Business Management student Bruno Peigalles—who comes from La Salle-Universitat Ramon Llull in Spain—his journey is yet to close. So far, he says he has grown a lot personally, “Life here has taught me a lot. I got to meet new people everyday. I was able to grow up as an adult, live independently, and face the challenge of living outside my country.”
Upon going back, the exiting exchange students will finish their semesters in France. But what is sure to stay with them are memories of their accommodating and helpful professors in Benilde; their experiences eating chicken adobo, halo-halo, chopsuey, and turon and traveling to the beaches of Cebu and Bohol; and most of all, their short time as students of the College.
For more information on Benilde’s undergraduate programs and Benildean student life, contact us at (63) 2 8230 5100 local 1801 or admissions@benilde.edu.ph. You may also visit our website at www.benilde.edu.ph.
