By Gretchen Wing

As part of its “Where are they now?” series, the Lopez Island Community Scholarship Foundation caught up with 2022 LICSF scholarship recipient Isara “Sara” Greacen recently, and was immediately filled with admiration, and a little envy, at her current status. Who would not be? A student at Scripps College in Claremont, California, majoring in environmental analysis with a focus on race, class and gender, Sara is spending the first semester of her junior year in Paris.

Sara spent a “very full and happy summer” of 2024 working at Vita’s Wildly Delicious, whose proprietor, Bruce Botts, also serves as her advocate, a kind of mentor figure LICSF scholarship awardees are required to choose when first embarking on college. At the same time, and fittingly for her major, Sara was a climate communications intern for the Lopez Community Land Trust.

But in late August Sara set off with her parents, Chris and Chom Greacen, on a 10-day hiking adventure in the Swiss Alps before the start of her semester abroad. “I was blown away by Switzerland’s highly efficient and expansive train system,” Sara said. She also found the open approach to private property on hiking trails refreshing, in comparison with the U.S. For some parts of the trail, she said, “We walked directly through people’s farms!”

After their time together in the Alps, the Greacens dropped Sara off with her French host family to begin classes. Sara is taking four courses at the Parisian university Sciences Po, three of which fit her major. The first, “L’atelier de L’histoire: Guerre, Genre et Colonisation (19th-20th Centuries),” takes an interdisciplinary approach to the history of French colonization through lenses such as race, class and gender. Her second class, “Histoire, Economie et Environment,” focuses, as the name suggests, on the intersections of economy and the environment throughout major historical events. Thirdly, Sara is taking a film class, “Le Regard Féminine/Féministe dans le Cinema Francais.” She explained, “We examine the history of cinema from a very woman-centered perspective to explore the role of women in the world of cinema both as directors/writers, and how women are portrayed in films.” Although she had never studied cinema before, Sara finds the course a “fascinating, intriguing” fit with the gender part of her major track at Scripps.

Her fourth class is advanced French. But in reality, as Sara pointed out, all four classes fit that category, as all are taught entirely in French.

If life in one of the world’s greatest cities seems like an enormous leap for someone who grew up on Lopez Island, Sara would probably agree. “I’ve dreamt of studying in France since I first started learning French at Lopez Middle School,” she said, “so now, living here in Paris, it feels surreal to see that dream come to life.” She did not realize how much she would love the city’s cafe culture, “walking around the little streets and alleyways and seeing people seated on the outside terraces of cafes just sipping coffee and chatting.” She deeply appreciates that kind of social engagement. “One of my favorite things to do on a day off,” she said, “is to take the metro to the Seine, with a friend or by myself, and just walk, looking at all the little shops selling artwork and postcards along the river.”

That special, Parisian engagement does come with one unexpected challenge: in Paris, in order to preserve the social atmosphere, working on computers is not allowed in cafes. So, Sara has had to find new places to study. Luckily, she reported, “There are so many beautiful libraries here, it hasn’t been much of a problem.”

Sara also deeply appreciates the centrality of Paris and the ease of travel, even beyond Europe. She recently spent fall break exploring Morocco with a friend. “Such a different culture and landscape!” she reported. “An amazing introduction to Africa.”

In her first two months, Sara has found total immersion both challenging and rewarding, pushing her, she said, “to grow both academically and culturally. This is my first time ever being in Europe, so it definitely has been a little bit of a culture shock.” But, she added, “I am deeply appreciative of the Lopez community’s continued generosity and dedication to supporting students like me.”

Speaking on behalf of that community, LISCF is mutually appreciative of intrepid students like Isara — if a touch envious as well.