Student of the Month
July's featured student,
Rym Ben Berrah, is passionate about the world of literature and communications.
Rym at her prom (second from left)
Winner of many writing prizes and future published author, she dreams of making a name for herself on the Franco-Ontarian literary scene. She has lived in Algeria, Tunisia, and Montreal. She has now been in Ottawa for about a year and she enjoys it. This summer, she would like to find a job while she finishes writing her manuscript. In September, she will start at the University of Ottawa in Management and Philosophy. She likes meeting people and becoming friends with people passionate about the arts and about life in general.
Name: Rym Ben Berrah
Age: 18 (19 on August 12th).
Grade: 12.
School: De La Salle
Lives in: Ottawa
First language: Arabic
Favourite music: House music, classical music, and French "chanson".
Favourite French expression: It’s a little cheesy, but is there anything better than “Je t’aime”?
Favourite French words: Sibyllin, vacuité, langoureux.
Guilty pleasures: Cheese and white chocolate.
Favourite way to practice French outside of school: I love to read, write, and speak in French with my bilingual friends. Even on the net.
Why is it important to learn a second language?: The world is big. It’s waiting for us. It’s waiting for us to discover it. There are 6 billion of us on the planet, so with only one language, we are really limiting our chances of finding happiness. The more languages we have access to, the more powerful we are.
In her opinion, the coolest French country is: France (not the most original answer, but hey!). Irreplaceable in my heart because of its romanticism, its amazing inhabitant, its little bistros, its delicious cheeses, its artists, its lifestyle, and its lovely young men:)
How she will use her French skills in the future: I will publish books in French so that the world will have access to my words and so I can perpetuate the language that is so close to my heart. Perhaps I will end up as a literature professor at university, who knows what the future will bring?
Why she decided to go to the University of Ottawa: I was accepted at Glendon, at the University of Montreal and at the University of Ottawa. I decided to go to UofO because I love the capital. There is a lot of artistic potential to take advantage of in this city. I also like the fact that bilingualism is everywhere here. Furthermore, I will start working at the House of Commons and that is something I hold dear. Finally, I wanted to be close to my parents, my little brother, and to Montreal, the city in which I spent my teenage years and have lots of friends and memories.
Favourite writers: Charles Baudelaire, Frederic Beigbeder, Lolita Pille, Emile Nelligan, Homère, Georges Batailles, and Sigmund Freud.
Where she would like to travel: I would like to go to Tunisia and Algeria because I miss my family there. I would also like to tour Europe and, more particularly, see Paris and Brussels. Those are cities are hugely inspiring.
Past featured students
June 2009:
Kaeli Bauman and Marie-Josée Charette
May 2009
: Melody Sinclair-Brooks