Since returning to the University of Oklahoma to serve as president of his alma mater, David Boren has stressed the importance of adding an international flavor to the academic and cultural experience of students. Julia Mainini is proof of just how important such and experience can be.
A former Rhodes Scholar himself, the president has preached the importance of OU students experiencing the broader boundaries of the world. He also is quick to encourage students on the Norman campus to reach out to those from different cultures and backgrounds. In 2001, Mainini may have been just the type of student Boren would have had in mind as one to whom others should reach out.
Mainini came to OU that year as an exchange student from Ecole de Management de Strasbourg in Strasbourg, France. She would return six years later to pursue a master’s degree in business. The reason, she says, was pretty simple.
“Studying abroad in the U.S, and at OU was a mind opening experience for me,” Mainini recalls.
Mainini says after earning her first master’s in business in France and working three years as a brand manager for a cosmetics company there, her year-long exchange experience at OU convinced her it was time to come back and earn a master’s of business administration.
Despite a heavy load in the classroom and the demands of a job, Mainini found founded the French and Francophone Student Association.
“A fellow classmate, Rahul Nayak, who was president of the Indian Student Association, convinced me I could do it,” Mainini explains. “I served as president for the 2007-2008 academic year. After I graduated I continued as a consultant with the group.”
Mainini said the focus of the group continues to be service as a conduit to French and Francophone culture, providing a voice for French-speaking students on campus and to share the culture with the greater campus community.
That passion for OU and her native France is a major factor in the establishment of the OU France Alumni Network in September 2013, of which Mainini has been chosen president.
During her time at OU, Mainini served as a graduate assistant under Dr. Millie Audas, Director Emerita of Education Abroad and International Student Services at OU. She credits the mentorship of Dr. Audas with her desire to strengthen the bonds between OU and her native country.
“She is the type of woman I aspire to be,” Mainini points out. “I was lucky to meet her in 2001 and to work for her for two years while working on my M.B.A. She inspired me to create and lead FFSA and now to create and lead OU FAN.
“ I learned so much from my mentors and had the chance to have their entire support and guidance throughout my studies, professional career and life.”
Mainini says since 2002 she has met and kept in contact with French OU students from all over France, especially in Paris, and experienced an incredible connection.
“The bond that we created while studying abroad at OU was so strong that our friendships are very sincere, loyal and forever enriched with the experience of learning a new culture, language and education in the U.S. and at OU” Mainini says.
In September, FAN held its first reunion of French OU alumni and students. Nearly 100 people attended the event, held in the heart of Paris.
As an official Alumni Association club, OU FAN will hold monthly meetings of officers and has three events planned for 2015, including a February 12 meet-and-greet, a June summer gathering and fall event still in the works.
Mainini says the club is gathering information and records related to French alumni back to 1991. In addition, they plan to raise funds to establish scholarships for French students hoping to study at OU.
“The experience and the connections we build abroad are very strong and remain for a lifetime,” Mainini points out. “I truly believe in the importance of building a strong network of OU Alumni in France.”
OU FAN information can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/OUFranceAlumniNetwork and on LinkedIn at OU France Alumni Network. Anyone interested in the network can email ou.francealumni@gmail.com.
View pictures from OU FAN’s reunion event by visiting the OU Alumni Association Flickr page.