In The Abbey and On the Road

40 American students discover a new life in Europe’s Old World
by Camille Millet
USM graduate in Foreign languages and English and
Abbey Staff member

Last September, 40 American college students descended on Pontlevoy, a sleepy farming community in the Loire Valley of France, and took up residence in the town’s historic abbey. For the students and the townspeople, the inaugural semester of The Abbey study abroad program was nothing short of life changing.

Sitting in Le Commerce, the student hangout across the street from the abbey, chasing away the dampness of a rainy afternoon with several high-octane coffees and a steaming plate of pasta, you get the perfect introduction to the world of the Abbey.

“This is one of those experiences in life that you wish you could live forever,” says Jenny Graham, a junior from Oakland University. “I’ve been taking all kinds of photos, but it’s kind of discouraging, because no matter how many pictures I take of the abbey, or the people, or the places I go, it will never do it justice. I can go home and show people the pictures, but they’ll never understand it.”

Chances are it’s a feeling that’s been shared by students since the days when George Washington’s nephews walked the halls of this stately institution. A school for most of its millennium, in 2001 the abbey of Pontlevoy was renovated for use by The University of Southern Mississippi. Today, USM and a consortium of 13 American universities run the Abbey study abroad program.

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