Ray Boone

Education:
Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies, University of South Carolina
Associates in Arts, Midlands Technical College

Ray Boone is a current graduate student in the French and Francophone Studies program who is passionate about both theoretical literary studies and real-world research application. Ray’s research interests include melancholia and psychoanalysis in French autobiographies and autofiction, critical disability studies, postcolonialism, international debt, legal systems, and post-war art movements. In addition to conducting theoretical research involving disability studies, Ray is committed to expanding disability accessibility by introducing new and alternative assistive technologies and accommodations in the classroom.

Tricia Carreon

Education:
Bachelor of Arts in French, Michigan State University

Tricia Carreon is a graduate student at the Pennsylvania State University’s Department of French and Francophone Studies. She double majored in French and History at Michigan State University, where she had the opportunity to study abroad during the spring semester of her second year in Tours, France. After falling in love with France, she took part in the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF) post-graduation and taught English to French high school students. Tricia’s research interests focus on 20^th-century existentialism and the involvement of intellectuals in both the anti-colonial and feminist movements in post-WWII France.

Arezou Darvishi

Education:
Master of Arts in French, University of Oregon
Bachelor’s degree in French, Allameh Tabatabaii University

Born and raised in Iran, Arezou Darvishi embarked on a journey of French language exploration that led her to pursue a Bachelor;s degree in French translation at Allameh Tabataba’i University. In 2022, she moved to the United States to pursue an MA in French at the University of Oregon. Developing her academic interests beyond language alone, she is interested in the complex intersections of women’s studies in the Middle East and Francophone regions considering the role of religion imposed by the state power. Beyond academia, she finds her “me-time” in doing workouts, hiking, and bouldering. Recently, she discovered a passion for painting, adding a taste of art to her life.

Louis Landreau

Education:
Master of Arts in Anglophone Studies, University of Strasbourg
Bachelor of Arts in Anglophone Studies, University of Strasbourg

Louis Landreau is at Penn State for the 2024-2025 academic year as an exchange student from the University of Strasbourg. He received his B.A. and M.A.  in anglophone studies at the University of Strasbourg, France, specializing in American history and literature. His work deals with the notions of racism and inequalities, especially during the period of the American Civil War. He has a particular interest in journalism and the expression of extreme ideas, and thus has studied the political factions of Peace Democrats and Copperheads during the civil war, and analysed their rhetoric both in political speeches and in newspapers. He also taught French as a language assistant for one year at Kalamazoo College, Michigan.

Melanie Pérès

Education:
Master 1 Language Science and Creole Worlds, University of La Réunion
Bachelor of Arts in French and Creole Studies, University of Mauritius

Born and raised in Mauritius, Melanie Pérès is passionate about language, music, theatre, and literature. Through her multi-faceted and interdisciplinary work as an award-wining novelist, musician, and actor, she has made a name for herself in the Indian Ocean Creole world. A teacher of both French and Mauritian Kreol, Melanie has worked tirelessly toward the promotion of the Creole languages, cultures, music and heritage of the Mascarene archipelago. A respected figure and cultural activist in Mauritius and Reunion Island, she is regularly invited to contribute to academic and artistic projects across the Indian Ocean, and has collaborated with the University of Mauritius on the elaboration of national examination papers in Mauritian Kreol.