My name is Caitriona O'Grady and I am a senior French major, Studio Arts minor at Stonehill College. I grew up in Milton, Massachusetts, and was educated by the Milton Public Schools' wonderful French Immersion program, the goal of which is to have students fluent by the 7th grade.

By the time I arrived at Stonehill I knew that I wanted to continue with French and study abroad in a French-speaking country.  I had always thought I would study in Paris at the Sorbonne, but my older sister spent the first half of her junior year abroad in Dakar, Senegal, and opened my eyes to the option of going to French-speaking Africa.  I embarked on my journey to Rabat, Morocco last September with an original plan to spend my spring interning in Paris.  It did not take very long for me to realize that Morocco had become my home, and I was lucky enough to be able to change my plans and stay there for my second semester as well.