An American in Paris

Allison Brown ’12 knows the value of her time at TU as an undergraduate, where the business administration major was a member of the Honors College.

BY MEGAN BRADSHAW

“It set me up for success,” she says. “It was nice to be with people who had the same mindset as me. I also appreciated the faculty and learning about topics like masculinity in literature and the dialogue between Caribbean and English literature around colonialism.”

She knew studying abroad would be a key component of her international business concentration. She chose a semester-long experience at a business school outside Rouen, France. She roomed with a fellow TU exchange student in the city center and plunged into local French culture. They participated in events like a running dinner—where each portion of the meal (drinks, appetizers, entrees and dessert) was held at a different native student’s home—and found the silver lining in transportation strikes by hitching car rides to campus with classmates, making new friends on the commute.

Brown’s fellow business students came from all over the world: China, Canada and India in addition to countries all over Europe. She ran into cultural differences almost immediately. From learning what winning at negotiation means in different cultures to receiving very honest critiques on her work from French professors, Brown’s cultural knowledge grew alongside her business acumen.

“Even something as simple as long division is different,” Brown says. “I never knew that until sitting down and doing math with somebody and seeing that they're doing it differently on their paper—using a kind of chart—but coming up with the same answer. That's a good analogy: Problem-solving is different in every culture.”

She returned to France after graduation, and, in a full-circle moment, she is now a recruiter for a French business school. She received French nationality in 2021 and recently purchased a home in the suburbs of Paris. Brown clearly sees how her academic and cultural education have broadened the opportunities in her life and highly recommends students participate in a study abroad experience.

“You can learn so much about yourself,” Brown says. “Living abroad has given me the perspective to see what aligns with my values and what doesn’t. No country is perfect. But I wouldn't have that viewpoint and know there's a different system—whether it's for me or not—without going abroad.”