Recent alumna Julianna Reidell ’25 has won the 2025 Women in French Undergraduate Essay Award, an honor that caps her career at Arcadia and helps her prepare to begin a teaching role with the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF) this fall.

Reidell, who graduated with degrees in English and French and Francophone Studies and a minor in Pan-African Studies, earned the award for her essay titled “Oeuvre faible ou défi audacieux: L’idéologie abolitionniste d’Olympe de Gouges et les nuances socioculturelles de L’esclavage des noirs, ou l’heureux naufrage,” which roughly translates to “Feeble work or daring challenge: The abolitionist ideology of Olympe de Gouges and the sociocultural nuances of Black Slavery, or the Fortunate Shipwreck.” 

The essay analyzes the abolitionist ideology of Olympe de Gouges, an 18th-century French playwright, and her 1789 anti-slavery play, which was performed for just three nights in Paris before it was shut down. Although she described the work as flawed by modern standards, Reidell said the fierce backlash underscored its significance. 

“ There really was this very tense moment in society surrounding the question of slavery during the French Revolution, when all these ideas about new rights and freedoms were being debated,” Reidell explained. “The backlash against her and against the play was just brutal, showing that even though the play seemed a little bit tepid by modern standards, the fact that there were these very visceral attacks against it is really important in showing that even these small steps that she was taking really were very important and very influential for the era.”

The project began in Professor of French and Chair of the Modern Languages and Cultures Department Dr. Kate Bonin’s course, French Women Writers and Other Troublemakers, where Reidell connected de Gouges’ abolitionist writing with her own studies in Pan-African history. Through learning about the context in which de Gouges’ play was shown, and the sabotage that went into its brief run, Reidell discovered a legacy of persistence.

“ Whether through her anti-slavery writing or her early feminist work, I think Olympe de Gouges was just someone who was willing to try to force her way into any space and to say what she believed was right, no matter what,” Reidell said. “I really admire that. I mean, it got her killed; she was guillotined only a few years later, but the world needs more people like that. I think after several hundred years, her legacy is finally starting to get the respect that it deserves. She wasn’t right all the time, but I think she had the right intentions, and again, it’s just important to be able to speak out, and to have people who will risk everything to do so.”

This recognition comes after three years of submitting to the contest, but it’s the perfect time: both capping off Reidell’s time at Arcadia and laying the foundation for her future.

This October, Reidell will begin a contract as an English teaching assistant in a high school in Ribeauvillé, a small town in France’s Alsace region near the German and Swiss borders. The role is part of TAPIF, which places recent graduates into French classrooms to assist teachers with various language skills.

“ [Winning this award] definitely improves my confidence for pursuing longer-term studies or a career or anything related to French, including the next step of going to France and working as an English teaching assistant for a while, and navigating life in France,” explained Reidell. “I mean, I’m sure it will still be a huge shock, linguistically and culturally, but this definitely helps me feel like, ‘okay, I’ve gotten sort of recognition for being at a certain point.’ So there’s definitely a bit of a confidence boost there.”

Reidell expects to help students with oral comprehension, pronunciation, and advanced English texts. 

“I’m hoping we’ll be able to have some good discussions,” she said. “And I hope  I’ll be able to help them with whatever they’re studying at the moment or whatever particular areas they might need improvement in.”

She credited Dr. Bonin with shaping her Arcadia experience and her love for French.

“ I have to say just how grateful I am to Dr. Bonin,” Reidell explained. “I came to Arcadia wanting to minor in French, and within that first semester of being in her Francophone Civilizations class, I realized that I loved the class, I loved her teaching style, and I loved French culture so much that I was willing to double major. So that was definitely pivotal throughout my time at Arcadia. Then it’s just been realizing how much and how deep I’m willing to go when it comes to my newfound passion for not just French as a language, but Francophone history and Francophone cultures.”

That commitment earned her recognition at the 2025 Honors Convocation, where she received the Modern Language Award. 

“ That meant a lot to me as well, because it really was a lot of work over the past four years of balancing the two majors,” Reidell said. “I was just so grateful to feel like that work had been recognized in that way.”

Looking ahead, Reidell said she is excited for both the classroom and cultural experience, including one Alsatian dish in particular she plans to revisit. 

“I’ve had it once in France and once in Germany,” she said. “I think the French term is tarte flambée, and it’s a little bit like a pizza with a very thin crust, cheese, and then usually onions and bacon on top. It’s very good.  I think the border area between France and Germany is where it’s most commonly found. So, I’m hoping to be able to get some more of that when I go back.