First Name

Gillian Bergmann

Field of Study

Ph.D. Program, Ecology

Graduation Year

2025

Program Title, Location, Duration

Global Grad Grant: Research Track: Independent research exchange; Angers, France; 6 months

What motivated or led you to participate in your global learning program?

I developed a collaboration with a team of scientists in France as part of my Ph.D. research. I've admired the research these scientists have been doing for a while and am interested in applying for jobs with them after I complete my Ph.D. next year. To build rapport, strengthen our collaboration and receive additional training for my dissertation, I proposed a 6-month visit with their research group. Happily, my advisor and collaborators agreed! In addition to the research opportunities, I've been interested in French culture for a long time and took several years of French classes in high school. As such, I thought this exchange would be a good opportunity to continue to learn the language, immerse myself in a new culture and history, all while pursuing cool science.

What was the most challenging part of your program and the most rewarding?

I think the most challenging part of the program, so far, has been making friends. I'm shy and still learning French, so I've struggled to feel connected and understood across our language differences. I also feel embarrassed when I need to converse with my colleagues and friends in English since I want to respect the cultural/language norms. However, I am realizing that this is an exchange, so I can offer opportunities for my colleagues to practice speaking English in the same way that I'm practicing French with them. I also remind myself that learning a language is hard work and it's normal to struggle. Everyone I've met so far has been very welcoming and supportive, which has helped me be more comfortable speaking. That ties into one of the most rewarding parts for me: that I have made so much progress in my French fluency. I've learned so much vocabulary and sentence structure, and I can now speak without having to mentally prepare what I want to say. While I'm not fluent yet, I can have functional conversations with people, and my reading and writing is very proficient. It's been a lot of work to balance language immersion/self-teaching with my research, so I'm proud of the amount of progress I've made!

What’s one of your most memorable experiences from your program?

This is somewhat nerdy, but one of my most memorable experiences was from my research. Before coming to France, I was doing a greenhouse experiment using bacteria on watermelon plants (I'm a microbial ecologist), and I mailed DNA samples from this experiment to my French collaborators for sequencing. When I arrived, I got to work with the sequencing technician at the research institute to prepare my DNA samples for sequencing, load the samples into the sequencing machine and start the sequencing run. In my work, it's much more common to do some of the DNA sample preparation and then send your samples to a genome center or genomics company for sequencing, since the sequencing machine and preparation components are so expensive. As such, it was a cool moment to see the sequencing machine and do the sequencing myself. It was also really great that I got to take my samples through every step of the experiment process—from applying treatments in the U.S. to sequencing the DNA from the resulting samples in France.

What was a typical day like on your program?

I normally start the day by eating breakfast with my husband in our apartment. I then bike across the city to the research institute where I work. At the moment, I spend the morning doing writing, analysis and planning, while I usually dedicate my afternoons to lab work. Around mid-morning, most people on the research team take a break for coffee and conversation. I really enjoy these communal breaks because they’re a good way to get to know others in the research group and practice my French. After the break, I return to my office for more computer-based work, or sometimes I have a meeting with my research exchange mentors. Around noon, people in the team break for lunch, either in the canteen at the university or the cafeteria room in our lab building. I bring my own lunch most of the time, but I also try to go to the canteen every 1-2 weeks so that I can socialize with different groups of people. After lunch, I’ll do some work in the microbiology laboratory. This usually involves preparing bacteria for my experiments or processing plant samples. I sometimes receive help from technicians in the research group, so it’s also a good opportunity to teach methods or talk about my project in French with others. After the workday, I ride home for dinner and social activities with my husband. We normally walk together to the boulangerie (bakery) in our neighborhood for a fresh baguette, stop by the grocery store for any remaining dinner ingredients, talk about our day and say hi to the cats that live in our neighborhood. We then cook dinner and either watch a movie at home or go out on the town. Our nightly outings generally include going to open-mic nights at the local bars (my husband plays guitar), going to the local cinema or sitting out in our local park.

What was your biggest concern in regards to participating in the program? Were you able to overcome that concern, and if so, how? What advice would you give someone who has similar concerns?

Going into the program, I was really worried about being homesick. I also studied abroad in college and the hardest part of that experience was homesickness and loneliness. I realized, however, that I have a lot more support to lean on this time around. First of all, I came to France with my husband and my cat, and having them with me has made me feel more at home. My husband is also fluent in French, so I can lean on him for support with the language when we go on excursions together. Second, I had already developed relationships with my collaborators before starting the exchange, so I had social connections to build from. My collaborators are both very friendly and were proactive about introducing me to all the other scientists and students in their team. Finally, I've made a conscious effort to regularly stay in touch with my friends in the U.S., which reminds me that I'm still surrounded by community. Visiting with my American friends over Zoom has helped me feel less isolated, especially when I'm struggling with language gaps.

How do you think your program experiences will benefit you in the future—thinking academically, future career goals, or personally?

I ultimately want to be a professor/senior scientist, and I really value collaborating with others to advance our scientific knowledge. So far, this experience has allowed me to collaborate with scientists with diverse skillsets and backgrounds. I can imagine collaborating with many of them in the future, which I think will be beneficial for sharing research knowledge on an international level. I am also interested in returning to Europe for my post-doc and potentially a permanent position, so this experience has given me a lot of connections to make that return. Additionally, through participating in the Plant Microbiome Symposium in Amsterdam this summer, I have become more aware of the research institutes and their lead scientists spread across Europe, all of which will be helpful during my upcoming job search. It’s also given me the experience and confidence to make another international move long-term.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

I was able to go on this research exchange through financial support from the Global Grad Grant program. I'm truly grateful that I could be a part of this program, as it significantly alleviated the financial strain of moving to another country. The program also allowed me to participate in the Global Leadership Certificate, which taught me about cultural humility and approaching my exchange through a global perspective. This training has helped me approach my collaborations and social interactions with more curiosity, which I feel has enriched my international experience and my desire to pursue other international opportunities.

Update: Gillian graduates in June 2025 and will be headed to Germany for a postdoctoral research position!