Dorothy Johnston, a student at Wellesley College, was one of the 768 students who studied in France with the Delaware Foreign Study Plan. She was a strong student, as can be seen in the glowing recommendation printed under her portrait. Dorothy applied in the Spring of 1927 for the 1927-1928 group and was quickly accepted.
Her eagerness to study in Paris can be felt in Dorothy’s response to her acceptance letter, which she sent to Professor George E. Brinton, the second Director of the Foreign Study Plan. In it, she writes that her acceptance “caused me great pleasure and I shall endeavor to be worthy of your favor.”
Dorothy more than kept her word, leading her group throughout their intensive French training in Nancy. She continued to earn top marks in Paris, the only student in the group to earn all A’s in her classes at the Sorbonne, as noted in the letter below from Professor Brinton to her father after the end of the first term in Paris.
Dorothy got along well with her host family, with whom she shared meals, and enjoyed social life with other students in the program. According to letters and reminiscences donated by her family to the University Archives, she even attracted a determined suitor among her cohort, a young man who claimed she would be a fabulous ambassador’s wife as he pursued diplomatic work. It should be noted that his gentleman was not, however, her eventual husband.
For a brief look at Dorothy’s life in Paris, please see the video page as part of this exhibition.
While photographs were undoubtedly taken by the Foreign Study Plan Director, staff, and participants of each group, only one complete album of the student’s adventures throughout the years remains in the records of the program. An unknown number of records and historical materials, including any other possible albums put together by the program staff, were housed in the University’s Paris Bureau building and lost due to the occupation of Paris by German forces in World War Two. This surviving album was presented to a former staff member of the program on a visit to Paris in 1948.
While only a sample, these images give us a hint of the varied experiences of students abroad in the early twentieth century and illustrate that some things remain the same despite the passage of time. Then and now, it seemed important to get images of the whole group at momentous occasions – like disembarking onto French soil for the first time. Students still make plenty of trips to cultural and historical landmarks, here taking in the monument at the Verdun battlefields before it had been completed. And everyday scenes, like members of the group traveling together or the kitchen of a local home, complete with a local cat, are just as popular today as in the 1920s.
