Emilie Quenensse ’15

My father is French, but grew up in Benin, and my mother is Swedish. I was born in Paris and lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with my mother until I graduated from high school, although I visited Paris every summer to see my father. I’ve always loved Paris and knew that at some point, I’d come back for good, which I did in 2010 to attend AUP. I’ve been here ever since: this is my new home.  

 I started studying Psychology as soon as I arrived at AUP and it was through those courses that I was introduced to Gender Studies, since these two fields often overlap. Fortunately for me, the minor in Gender Studies became a major while I was a student and I became the first person to graduate from AUP with that major. I decided to minor in Politics because I was deeply interested in human rights and found that Gender Studies, with its inherently interdisciplinary nature, easily connected with many of the political topics and issues that I wanted to explore.

I loved AUP for its international atmosphere, as well as its small classes, which allowed us to create closer relationships with classmates and professors. The mix of the diverse student body and these intimate classroom spaces made for extremely fascinating discussions, both in and out of class!   

It was while I was at AUP that I discovered my passion for Gender Studies and research. With the support I received from my professors, I was offered some amazing opportunities. For my senior thesis, I worked with Professor Brian Schiff on his qualitative research project on narrative psychology and I was also a teaching assistant for Professor Sharman Levinson’s course “Gender and Psychology”. These experiences helped me gain confidence and the practical knowledge I needed to start an internship at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where I worked on its first project that focused on the LGBT population. After a year and a half at the OECD, I decided to further my education and have now started a master’s in Gender, Politics, and Sexuality at the Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales. Afterwards, I hope to find work at an international organization like the OECD.

Living in Paris has helped me gain independence and French fluency. I think that studying at AUP and living in a new country is an incredible kind of learning experience, where you’re forced to learn how to fend for yourself in a whole new context. As you learn about French culture and society, you’ll soon see that you’ve found yourself a second home.