A TU student had only a good time in France.
As classes begin again and people start to settle back into their lives in Tulsa, there is always one thing to count on: everyone who studied abroad this summer will tell their classmates stories about how the experience changed their entire perspective on the world and gave them new appreciation for culture and the arts. But that is not the case for one TU student.
Chemical engineering junior Kathryn Welsh returned to TU from a summer studying abroad in France. Despite spending months there, she says she doesn’t feel any different.
“Yeah, I went to my classes, struggled a bit with the language and hung out with some other students,” Welsh said. “It was a nice time, but I don’t think it changed my life.”
Her assertion has already rocked the campus.
“Kathryn must have been wearing a blindfold and earplugs the entire time she was in France for her to say that!” said Olive Segura, who has a class with Welsh. “I went there after my freshman year and literally just breathing in that French air enlightened my entire mind.”
The fact that Welsh only simply enjoyed her experience abroad is absolutely mind-boggling, especially to administration at TU’s Center for Global Education.
“We carefully curate our programs so that students return from their trips as true citizens of the world with such enthusiasm that they constantly spread their message and encourage others to follow in their footsteps,” said a spokesperson for the program. “If they aren’t telling their classmates ‘Travel is the best education you can have’ and ‘The X is so much better in Y than here,’ did they even really study abroad?”
Despite all of the criticism launched at her, Welsh continues to stick to her initial statement.
“I don’t understand why everyone’s so upset!” she said. “I had a good time, I’m just not an entirely different person now!”
Administration is now suggesting that Welsh seek counseling to deal with the obvious mental block she must have developed against the fantastic time she really had in France.
