Sophia Caron (right), Aradhita Arora (centre), Chantal Gosselin (left)
It takes a dedicated team to run a project like Espaces francophones (EF) – a joint initiative between the Okanagan School of Education (OSE) and the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS) that aims to create a sense of community amongst UBCO’s French speakers.
EF was co-founded by Francis Langevin (FCCS) and Carl Ruest (OSE) with funding from Heritage Canada, and was launched in the fall of 2022. With that funding, EF was able to hire a contract communications coordinator, and two student-staff positions. The initiative is currently co-run by Francis Langevin (FCCS) and Jody Dlouhy-Nelson (OSE) and continues to have the two student-staff positions, with support from the communications offices in both FCCS and OSE.
Over the last two years, there have been more than 40 events and supported projects, both on and off campus, including French films, crêpe breakfasts, hikes in the area, creative writing workshops and musical entertainment. Our student-staff, Aradhita and Sophia, have been dedicated to helping to ensure the events run smoothly – and are fun for those that attend!
Read their stories to learn how they’re involved with EF, and advice they have for first-year students.
Student Profile: Aradhita Arora