Mount Si graduate Kathryn McFarland explores college life in Switzerland

North Bend graduate Kathryn McFarland, currently a freshman attending Franklin College in Switzerland, recently wrote to the Valley Record, sharing her thoughts on her latest adventures abroad. As a foreign exchange student, in 2006, she wrote about her experiences in France, attending school at Jouy en Josas outside of Paris for the first semester of her senior year.

Contributing once again, she shares her thoughts on college and European life.

College in Switzerland

“Franklin College is situated in Lugano, Switzerland. Lugano is in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino. There is a beautiful lake and mountains surrounding the city, which is only an hour away from Milan.

I have now finished my first semester and am halfway through my second, as a freshman, here at Franklin College. Franklin, which is an American school, has about 500 students, from 57 different countries around the world. Franklin is accredited both in the United States and in Europe. At school, classes are taught in English, but outside in the community, everything is in Italian.

As of January 2008, Franklin gained university status.The liberal arts program, traveling, emphasis in on cultures, and small classes all feel perfect for me. I have loved my time here in Switzerland so far.”