Introduction: The City and Civilization

For most college presidents, Commencement is our favorite day of the year, as we see the successful culmination of such hard work by our students and faculty. And that’s true for me, but there is another day that is very close. It’s usually about Day Three of Centenary in Paris. We’ve recovered from jet lag. Students have been in class a day or two so can see what having “the city for a classroom” means. And most exciting for me, they’ve begun to explore Paris on their own. They can navigate the Metro. They can, if they’re feeling brave, wander into a café and order some lunch. Or if they’re not quite ready to demonstrate their French, they can pick up a sandwich and a drink at the corner Franprix. It is an invigorating day for me, knowing what lies ahead for these first year students. It is not a coincidence that city and civilization come from the same root word. The great cities of the world offer unequalled opportunities to explore the full spectrum of human culture, from the grandest museums to the humblest street food and to rub shoulders (sometimes literally!) with people from all over the world. In their first week of college, Centenary in Paris gives our students keys to open these amazing doors—skills that they can use for the rest of their lives and fresh eyes to see the amazing diversity of the world they live in. In this book, you can get a glimpse through their eyes.

I am so pleased and proud that Centenary has made this experience possible for our students. It challenges them in their first days of college to move beyond the familiar and the comfortable and to begin the journey we embrace in our mission statement: to become “global citizens [and] to live productive lives of vitality and purpose.” I am delighted to share this record of a very special journey.

Christopher L. Holoman, President, Centenary College of Louisiana

8