To the trustees of the Ada Belle Winthrop-King Memorial Fund,

            Words cannot express my gratitude for the immense opportunity that the Winthrop-King scholarship has afforded me to study Intensive French in Paris! I have to admit, there were tears of happiness upon receiving the e-mail; what a dream come true! When I was eight years old and the daughter of two violinists in a family struggling to make ends meet, I loudly declared that one day I would make it to Paris. (I have been a Francophile from a very young age.) Paris was a distant dream for me as a child in a low-income family and a long shot for me as a college student hoping to devote my life to low-paying aid work; the Winthrop-King scholarship however, has made the 12-year-long dream of Paris become a reality.

As an ardent lover of the French language, I greatly look forward to hearing the language in its native context, with all its nuances, modernity, and fluidity—-aspects that are difficult to learn in an American classroom context. Beyond linguistic education, Paris offers rich cultural immersion. Witnessing the culture first-hand is of special interest to me as I hope to eventually take my social entrepreneurial endeavors to help the impoverished in African countries that have been greatly impacted by the French culture through colonialism. I enthusiastically grasp at any opportunity for new experiences, and I cannot imagine a better mélange of new experiences than studying in Paris!

I would like to offer my sincerest thanks for this gift. I am overwhelmed by what a privilege it is. As a line from one of the great Audrey Hepburn movies says, “It’s not every girl that’s lucky enough to go to Paris.” You have my warmest considerations and appreciation, and I truly hope that one day I will be able to pass this sort of opportunity on to another girl with a long-shot, distant dream.

                                                            Sincerely,

                                                                        Katherine Prosser