BY MARIE WHITE

PUBLISHED: JUNE 23, 2010

Ariane Litalien, a graduate of Collège François-Xavier-Garneau, is heading for Harvard. The International Baccalaureate student, who contributed articles to the QCT last summer, has been accepted by the prestigious Massachusetts ivy league university founded in 1636.

IB Coordinator Pierre Vachon confirmed that Litalien is the first IB graduate ever to be accepted at Harvard, while William R. Horton, Jr., Harvard Alumni Association Regional Director, Canada, completed the full picture of her achievement.

"The Harvard Admissions Office confirmed to me," said Horton, "that no student had been accepted to Harvard College from Collège François-Xavier-Garneau prior to this year."

Moreover, "although formal records are not kept in this regard, those in the Admissions Office responsible for Canada reported to me that, to the best of their recollection, no student had been admitted to Harvard College from Quebec City in the past 25 years," he said, adding that Harvard is proud to have had many students over the years from the province of Quebec, such as the Gaspé region.

"It is with great pride and pleasure that we learned the news," commented Danielle Malboeuf, FXG's Director of Studies.

Describing Litalien as a student who always excelled in her studies in the IB Programme, Malboeuf said, "Harvard University, being one of the most prestigious in the world, will be a unique opportunity for Ariane and the culmination of all the effort she invested in her studies. Congratulations!"

Prior to CEGEP, Litalien's talents in science led her to Stockholm, Sweden, when she won the Canadian Stockholm Junior Water Prize. Since, she has travelled to Peru with the IB and to Tunisia for a science fair last summer. She has also travelled in Canada, France, Cuba and the United States, having lived in Nashville for a year, before settling in Ste. Foy for her two-year degree at FXG.

Originally from Sorel-Tracy, Litalien, 18, is passionate about international relations, which she intends to couple with a career in journalism which will enable her to "combine writing, my interests and make a living."

First, she intends to specialize, since "you have to know what you write about." She keeps close to current news stories by reading the NY Times, the Washington Post and La Presse daily.

"The first year at Harvard is a general one, then I will go into international politics. After, I might go on to a Master's in journalism at New York's Columbia University," explains Litalien.

When did the dream to become an international journalist begin?

"I always knew I wanted to be an international journalist," says the graduate who has been part of school newspapers since elementary school. Her writing, in fact, has already been recognized. Last June, Litalien won a prize with Quebec's La Critère creative writing contest and she worked for La Crise, FXG's student paper, for two years. And in the fall of 2009, she was elected editor-in-chief.

In the summer of 2009, Litalien contributed several stories to the QCT, her first experience being published in an English community paper.

How did she like the experience?

"It was amazing. I loved it." She spent a lot of time on each article, structuring it and editing while the greatest challenge, she says, was finding her own stories that would connect with the readers.

Her stories covered Quebec City's Iranian community reactions to the turmoil in Iran; why young Quebecers seek higher education in the U.S.; how students discovered the power of English at the International Science Fair in Tunisia, and; how FXG students discovered a new reality in Peru and how local students defied survey results and are getting involved on the political scene.

Asked what she thinks is the greatest challenge today for a journalist, she responds: "Being objective, though you can never be 100 percent objective. You have to be, after all, a person when you write." Her ultimate goal is to one day be printed in the New York Times.

Litalien has chosen to pursue her studies and work in English since "it is the working language and it is easier to be objective in my second language." For nuance, she writes creatively in French, her mother-tongue, as well as enjoying Spanish.

A challenge she took on, almost unknowingly, was this year's provincial Spanish composition contest. "It was more of a class assignment," so she was surprised when her composition about how to help Haiti after the earthquake won third prize.

Litalien entered the IB Programme in Languages after high school in Sorel-Tracy because it provided challenges. "I could still study what I liked, languages, still do math and science which would still be challenging for me."

She also "knew the IB is recognized by ivy league universities which would help me to get in." Languages will be an asset to her work in international relations so Litalien completed the highest stream of English in the IB while also studying Spanish and German. And one day, she would like to learn Arabic.

Harvard, with its diverse collection of students and dedicated teachers, promises to be both challenging and stimulating for Litalien, who also knows that Harvard also has its own much-admired newspaper, The Harvard Crimson.

"I heard the newspaper is very intense. It's really amazing and impressive," adds Litalien, who may one day soon see her own byline in its venerable print.

"It has been running for like 300 years and it has its own printing press so it is published daily," finishes the smiling new Harvard student.

http://www.qctonline.com/qu-bec-city-student-and-qct-contributor-heads-harvard-and-loves-challenge

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1349372&forum_id=1#15344151)