Vanamali Tay
Vanamali Tay received a Masters degree in Interdisciplinary Arctic Studies (Environment & Sociology) from Université Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, a member of Université Paris Saclay.
What did you study in France?
I pursued an Arctic Science master’s program at the joint campus of Observatoire de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines at Paris Saclay University in the year 2017-2018. My master’s program provided me with opportunities to travel to other parts of Europe to study, collaborate, network, and gain first-hand knowledge while having lots of fun! As a grand finale, I got to shake the French President Emmanuel Macron's hand at the OECD conference.
The classes I attended were all taught by professors who were also field researchers. My entire program was based on current research topics conducted by scientists, economists, sociologists, politicians, local experts and participating students. As part of the program, I attended conferences, performed an internship under my mentor professor, and wrote and presented my master’s thesis in front of a panel. Below is a list of conferences I attended during my master’s program in France.
- Montreal Protocol Symposium, Paris, France / September 2017 / Attendee
- Arctic Frontiers Conference, Tromsø, Norway / January 2018 / Volunteer
- High North Dialogue Conference, Nord University, Bodo, Norway / April 2018 / Guest Student
- OECD, Paris / 2018 / Networking
- Polar 2018, Open Science Conference, Davos, Switzerland / June 2018 / Volunteer
What did you do outside of school?
Though I had a busy schedule at my university -- classes from 9am-4pm Monday-Thursday and work at the university for 5 hours on Fridays – I still found time to take the regional train to discover many parts of France like Annecy, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Nice, Normandy, Brittany, Loire Valley on the weekends. My program also offered a French language program which I attended. I took some cooking lessons from Le Cordon Bleu to master French specialties: macarons, baguette, pain-au-chocolat, croissant and I took a perfume making class in Grasse! There were many meet-up groups in Paris to socialize in small or large groups that organize museum visits, walks in parks, picnicking by the Seine river, or running a marathon!
What are you doing now?
After the program, I returned to my secondary science teaching in California with better skill sets to teach my AP environmental science and chemistry class better as an interdisciplinary subject. I stayed in touch with many scientists that I came in contact with and they have been a constant source of inspiration, current research, and mentors for my students and myself. I also have become an Arctic theme consultant and published a peer-reviewed research paper for Springer Publication: Sustainability in the Arctic. And since I had such rewarding learning and living experience in France, I am considering pursuing a PhD program there someday.
