PIERRE C. FRALEY SCHOLARSHIP

Important: The deadline for applications to be received by the AF is February 15.

Scholarship Application & Instructions

The purpose of the Pierre C. Fraley Scholarship is to give students the opportunity to increase their language proficiency in French and to enrich their understanding of French culture and contemporary society. To be eligible for the Pierre C. Fraley Scholarship the applicant must meet the criteria listed below: 

• The applicant must must be a French language student, with at least a B1 level, or be a French teacher with no more than 3 years of experience. 

• The applicant must be applying to a French program. The program courses must be conducted in French, and be located in either the United States or in a Francophone country and is subject to the approval of the Alliance Française's Scholarship committee. 

• The committee may require an oral or written report of the recipient's progress after completion of the program

The Alliance Française (AF) scholarship committee will weigh need, merit, and the applicant’s career plans when awarding the scholarship in the amount of $3500. Preference will be given to residents of the tri-state area (PA-NJ-DE) or to out-of area students who are matriculated at a university in the tri-state area.

After finishing the project the recipient must summit to the scholarship committee, within 30 days, proof of completion and an evaluation of the project by a superior.

In addition, the recipient is required to write a 500 word report describing the experience in France.

The deadline for applications to be received by the AF is February 15 and candidates will be contacted by March 15th.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Scholarship Application & Instructions

The applicant must submit via e-mail, unless otherwise noted:

• The application form, format .doc, .docx or .pdf

• The applicant must submit a cover letter, in French, 500 word maximum describing their personality: their qualities and theirstrengths academically and personally, describing their reason for applying and career plans and how they intend to benefit from the program of study. They need to explain their French background.

•A 2 to 5 minute video recording of their spoken French presenting him(her)self in a different way than a cover letter. 

• All Applicants must submit 2 letters of recommendation. At least one of these must be from the applicant's current teacher of French. (University students: can be submitted by mail on university letterhead, or by e-mail. If e-mailed format .doc, .docx or .pdf, must be sent from professor's university e-mail address).

• University students must submit a current official transcript of grades (by US mail from the Registrar's office)

• The applicant must submit a copy of their application to a program of studies. The applicant must submit a copy of their application to that program. Receipt of the award is contingent upon acceptance to such a program. Format .pdf

A tapestry of unexpected dimension:

Memories of Tours, France 

By Sarah Horwitz, awardee of the 2019 Scholarship

I’ll admit to being an inveterate planner, though in recent years I’ve become much more open to the possibilities in life’s unanticipated detours. In Tours, this burgeoning adaptability became one of my greatest assets. In other words: many of my most memorable experiences resulted from stone-worn, storm-soaked circumstances I could never have predicted.

For instance: there was the afternoon I was wandering along a completely shade-less street, sans parapluie, when the skies opened up – leaving me instantly drenched, racing for cover, and ultimately sheltered inside la Cathédrale de Tours. Beside a motley congregation of amateur musicians and random high school students, I listened to the rain pelt the steadfast stone walls and was at ease.

Then there was the morning I was sitting in le jardin des Vikings, reading in the shade of ancient walls that once protected the city from Roman invaders, when an older woman asked if she could sit next to me. We ended up in a lengthy discussion, in French, of politics, feminism, and the origins of her dog’s name – and the distance that had separated our existences until that point melted into irrelevance.

Perhaps the most inconceivable moment of my time abroad was meeting Daniel, a Holocaust survivor. We conversed for hours in French – first in the living room of a house built before the French Revolution, then in a backyard fringed with cherry trees and overgrown grass – and he opened up to me about both his survival story and ongoing remembrance work. Our differences in age and accent quickly faded into the patchwork of shared empathy, wisdom and humor that the French language allowed us to stitch together.

When I reflect on my experiences in Tours, it’s these instances of human connection that most stand out – more than my classes, more than the consistently breathtaking châteaux and jardins. French was the conduit that drew me to these unforgettable episodes; and I sincerely thank l’Alliance Française for helping me make the most of them.