Laetitia Ropp from Paris, France had always dreamed of studying English in Canada.
She just wasn’t sure how she’d make it happen.
Fortunately for the talented student, she entered a national Facebook Photo Contest sponsored by ILAC, Air Canada, the Canadian Embassy, Le Parisien and Voyage Langue and was shocked when her picture received the most Likes, making her one of 10 finalists out of 2,000 entries.
As a finalist, she had to demonstrate why she was the best candidate to study English in Canada. So she wrote a story and created a video on Youtube and ended up being the proud winner of the contest (watch the video on YouTube).
“I was so happy to win,” says Ms. Ropp, a twenty-three year old photographer.
Not only did she receive a free one-year scholarship, she also gets to blog weekly about her experience for the popular Le Parisien, an online and print newspaper in France.
“I love to travel and share my experiences with others,” she says, “and show why Canada is a great place to travel and study.”
Ms. Ropp will be blogging about her experiences living in Toronto, traveling around Canada, what’s happening in her daily life and her overall experience studying in a foreign country.
One of her favourite activities that she blogged about was a trip to Quebec City and their famous ice hotel. She’s also enjoyed visiting beautiful Niagara Falls and plans on visiting New York and taking other trips in the area.
When asked what her impressions of Canada are she is quick to comment on how friendly the people here are.
“Every morning in the subway, the man working there talks to me and other people,” she smiles, “he always says hello and good morning and it’s surprising because it’s very different from France. I love this and am always in a good mood after.”
Ms. Ropp is deeply appreciative of the whole experience and hopes to improve her English while she’s here. She’s not sure what the future holds but has advice for students who want to study English in Canada.
“ILAC is a very good experience because you learn English with good teachers and it’s very interactive. It’s not the same as learning English at university in your home country. Here, you meet friends from all over the world. I would recommend any student wanting to study English to come to ILAC.”
Read Laetitia’s blog: A Year in Canada and listen to the live interview Friday, March 21st on ILAC Radio 1, one part airing every 15 minutes.
– Alisha Sevigny
