Adaba Briggs

Adaba Briggs

“Well, I’m a French major,” says Adaba, a little sheepishly. What’s the reason for her half-embarrassed response? “I came in as an economics major, but that really didn’t work out for me. I had to explain to my mom, and she was just like, ‘Ohhhh-k-ay,’” Adaba says, mimicking her mother’s hesitance and resignation. Adaba’s mom graduated from the Jones Graduate School of Management and really wanted her daughter to follow in her footsteps. “I work at the Jones School,” Adaba says, “and I like it, but, well, no, I don’t want to major in that. . . . I don’t mind having a desk,” she explains, “but I want to have a job where I’m not just in an office all year ’round, you know?”

Adaba, who spent several years in France in boarding schools, chose her major at the end of her freshman year. “I realized that I was in France for a while, and I really liked the language, and since I was going to be taking the classes anyway, why not major in it? I like French very much, and the teachers are cool. One semester, I took three languages at one time. I got good grades in my Russian class, and I had promised my mom that I would take Spanish until I graduated. And,” she adds, with a grin, “I can’t really back down on that. But three languages at one time . . .” she sighs, sounding more than a little exasperated.

This semester, the vice president of the Rice African Student Association is taking three French courses and one Spanish class, in which one of her classmates says, “She’s kicking everyone’s butt!” “I just like communication in general,” explains Adaba. “And I’m not really sure exactly what I’m going to do, but I like PR a lot. This summer I worked for McCann-Erickson back in Kenya. They are a big advertising company, and I had a lot of fun there. I am thinking of going in that direction.”

Her mom has finally taken her daughter’s choice of major in stride. But what about graduate school? “Well, that’s another thing I had to explain to her, but she’s taking it well. She really wants me to stay in the U.S. and go to school and work at the same time, but I don’t know how I’m going to do that,” Adaba sighs again. “I told her that I wanted to go back to Paris for graduate school. I love Paris, and it’s like my second home.” And though Mom may relent, she has asked one concession. “Mom said that if I go, I have to go to Le Sorbonne, which is very famous.”