This is one in a series of stories about international Detroit Mercy students who are taking online courses and spending their semester back at home overseas.
BY SARA MITRAKOVIC / VN STAFF WRITER
This is Iris Thioux.
She’s a French student at Detroit Mercy, currently in the last year of the five-year MBA program.
As with many international students, she had to go home earlier this year due to COVID-19.
“When the fall semester started on Aug. 24, I was more than ready to get into a routine,” she said. “But I did not expect to have to go online at ridiculously late hours.”
There is a six-hour difference between Detroit and Paris, and all MBA classes go from 6:40 to 9:10 p.m., which is 12:40 to 3:10 a.m. for Thioux.
She said it was quite hard to adapt to this new schedule.
Thioux used to be on the tennis team at Detroit Mercy until it got cut after the winter 2019 season.
“Besides taking four classes this semester, I was able to get back into tennis. I play twice a week,” said Thioux.
She is also taking advantage of the time at home to visit friends and family more often.
Overall, Thioux said she likes having online classes from France, because it gives her flexibility in her schedule.
“The only drawback is that I have to stay up really late and it’s not always easy to stay focused,” she said.
