Why the NBA in Paris was so much more than basketball, crepes, and a fun time.

By Imogen Barrett, Journalism Senior

Traveling to Paris to cover the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons NBA game was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that impacted me both personally and professionally.

One of my biggest regrets from my younger educational years is to not have studied or traveled abroad. Fortunately, years later I’d find myself at UF opening my laptop to an email that read, “NBA in Paris study abroad.” I made sure to apply. Before I knew it, I was packing my bags to head overseas to the capital of France.

It was my first time visiting Paris. Doing so through this program was an extremely positive experience. I think it will help me in my future personal and career endeavors.

Learning about journalism is an entirely different experience to practicing it. Approaching strangers on unfamiliar streets to conduct interviews teaches skills that can’t be learned in a classroom.

Between language barriers and street interviews, this program took me far beyond my comfort zone. Over the course of four days, I engaged in over 10 different interviews. Most of them required thoughtful navigation between the French and English languages.

We completed class projects in pairs, which was great for learning how to work and communicate in a team-based setting.

Thanks to this experience, I feel confident in my ability to report and create a journalism piece in different cultures and environments.

On the fun side of things, I learned about and grew closer to talented students from CJC and beyond. Several familiar faces were on the program. I had taken classes with some of them but I had not spoken to many.

Our short time in Paris changed this entirely. Getting to know the two professors who accompanied us on the program was also a beneficial experience. Lucky for us Dr. C is from Paris which made the foreign metro system a little easier to understand.

The ultimate highlight of the program was undoubtedly the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons NBA game. As an aspiring sports journalist, experiencing real-life sports atmosphere in another country taught me so much about the culture and the game. An immersion experience such as this has equipped me with skills and knowledge that I couldn’t have had in the U.S.

Posted: March 13, 2023
Category: NBA in Paris
Tagged as: Paris, sports, Sports@CJC, Study Abroad, Study Abroad experience