Saint-Lô NEWS

From August 2011 Newsletter:

St-Lô Intern 2011: Inés Yahi Impressions et Comparaisons
by Mary Jo Fassié, Chair

In 2008, Inès Yahi first came to the US as an exchange student with a group headed by Jeanine Vérove, Présidente of the Association Saint Lo 44 Roanoke. She was housed by a student from William Fleming High School. Her initial experience was so favorable that she returned to us this summer as an intern.

A second year law student at the Faculté de Droit in Caen, France (Normandie), Inès has had the opportunity to shadow different professionals: Henry Woodward at Legal Aid, Mayor Bowers, City Attorney Bill Hackworth, Andrea Martin at the Law Library, Nick Albu and Mark Loftis at Woods Rogers, Andy Goldstein at Magee Goldstein Lasky & Sayers, Roanoke History Museum (Carolyn Payne), Heather Ferguson in the City Attorney’s office. She has sat in on depositions and trials, seen City Council in action, watched the day to day business of a law firm, helped the History Museum move into new digs, and experienced family life thanks to her wonderful host families: Dionne Nichols (Wm. Byrd), Dr. Donna Musgrave (Physicians to Women), and Ellen Pevarski (Hotel Roanoke). Each has given her a different perspective on American family life, something for which she is very grateful.

When asked what she finds different about life in Roanoke, Inès’ impressions are not much different from our previous interns. At first she thought it odd to eat dinner at 6:00 p.m. but she has gotten used to it. Roanoke is a much bigger city than St-Lô, so just the size, the buildings, and entertainment venues are more numerous than in St-Lô. It surprised her to be greeted by total strangers in downtown Roanoke. She likes the variety of international cuisine that our city offers.

Her internships have been a wonderful and varied experience. Her first visit to a courtroom was in Roanoke. Inès has been impressed by the ease at which the lawyers interview their own clients and how professional they are in court. She was surprised to see how many people have problems with their landlords necessitating legal counsel and to hear the sad situations in child custody battles. While helping out at the Roanoke History Museum, Inès learned more about our valley and its past. She emphasized that her experiences have been educational and that all the professionals who allowed her to accompany them each day were helpful, amiable, and most interesting.

At left, Inès and Ryan Dunagan of the History Museum, look at an Army jacket belonging to Pvt. Leigh of the 29th Infantry Div., 116th Infantry Regiment. Pvt. Leigh was awarded many medals, including a Purple Heart, for his bravery, helping to liberate St-Lô . At right, Inès poses with other displays she helped to set up.

Outside of her daily internships, Inès noted several highlights of her visit so far: visiting the Roanoke Star, taking horseback riding lessons, going to Richmond for the day with Bill Hackworth, attending a performance of the American Shakespeare Theatre in Staunton, meeting all the Sister City committees at the Roths on SML, attending our Bastille Day Pique-nique, and visiting the UVA Law School and campus. The latter experience led her to compare her own law school and UVA noting many differences:

• UVA has a more beautiful campus!
• The lecture halls at UVA are smaller and each student has internet access and electrical outlets. 1L students in France have lectures with over 1000 students and 2Ls attend lectures with around 300 students.
• Graffiti is everywhere on a French campus.
• Her tuition is only 300-400 Euros a year. This is an average amount. Some students pay nothing if their family income is low. UVA costs over $42,000!
• French universities do not have sport teams or mascots.
• Law students only buy two books (Civil Code and Penal Code) which they keep at home for reference. Books referred to in lectures can be consulted at the library. UVA books = $1800 a year!
• Her grade depends mainly on her January and May exams. Her directed study group professor whom she meets for 3 hours a week also grades her but does not give mandatory assignments.
• Unlike the US where an entrance exam (LSAT for law school) is required, any student passing the high school BAC exam can register for classes in a law school. This means that law studies can begin at age 18, instead of 22 in the US. There seems to be a much greater attrition rate in France than in the US.
• Law studies continue past the three years of the Ecole de Droit onto specialty studies for another 3-4 years in a variety of areas of law.
• French law students demonstrate against national political decisions which can even lead to closing of the school for several weeks.

Inès will finish her shadowing experiences on August 19. She is looking forward to several other events before the end of August: a UVA football game and a visit to a high school. Before departing the US, she will visit NYC and reconnect with a former student of mine, David Krawczyk, who was an exchange student to St-Lô in 2007 and housed a student the year that Inès first came to the US. She and David have staid in contact since then.

We would like to wish her “Bon Voyage” et “Bonne Continuation” of her legal studies which have been enriched by her Roanoke experience.

At left, Inès and Ryan Dunagan of the History Museum, look at an Army jacket belonging to Pvt. Leigh of the 29th Infantry Div., 116th Infantry Regiment. Pvt. Leigh was awarded many medals, including a Purple Heart, for his bravery, helping to liberate St-Lô . At right, Inès poses with other displays she helped to set up.

William Graves and Christine Gravely, French students from Wm. Fleming, line up for the parade.	Vanessa Fassié and Bobby Moses work at the St-Lô stand in the afternoon.
July 2011: Bastille Day Pique-Nique
Board Members with Inès: Cammie Williams, Regina Rackow, (Inès) Peggy Wells, Ann Hackworth, Juanita King
Bob and Maryellen Goodlatte with Regina Rackow	Chuck Neighbor (right), D-Day vet, gets pat on the back from Dot Roth and a round of applause from the group.