As an international graduate student, Pierre Azou approaches professional development with an eye to a global career. As a GradFUTURES Social Impact Fellow at The French Mission for Culture and Higher Education in the French Embassy in New York City, Pierre was able to contribute to vital aspects of Villa Albertine, a newly-minted program offering bespoke residencies for global creators, thinkers, and cultural professionals.

Working closely with his mentor, Emma Buttin, Pierre assisted in organizing the entire selection process within the Villa Albertine, working with other embassy departments in NYC as well as at Villa Albertine branches in Atlanta, Miami, Boston, and Los Angeles. Pierre also helped create and then test the platform to select and onboard fellows, and curated data to measure the impact of the program. Pierre also worked to create and research themes for a special residency program that would operate alongside the main residency program.

While at the Embassy, Pierre met with the Head of the Books and Ideas Department about the “Prix Goncourt,” France’s most prestigious literary prize. This year for the first time, Ph.D. students from six American universities will award their own Prix Goncourt, choosing from the same short-list as the actual Prix Goncourt. He also contributed ideas on how to increase the visibility of the prize in the U.S., including at Princeton University.

"For me, this was the perfect position because it meant being at the center of things and working with all departments, and carrying very practical tasks that are very different from the ones expected of us as Ph.D. students, while also keeping an eye on the big picture...[The embassy is] just a great place to build one’s network in the French-American domain, because they’re in contact with virtually everybody."

—Pierre Azou, GS, FIT

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Denise Valenti, Office of Communications
April 6, 2022

Our Fellowship Partner

Villa Albertine, a new French institution for arts and ideas in the United States, builds on the bold and innovative programs that have been the hallmark of the French cultural network abroad for more than a century.

Created by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and supported by the French Ministry of Culture, Villa Albertine offers a novel artists’ residency model in which residents choose the location best suited to their work within the host country. With a permanent presence in 10 major US cities, it aims to foster in-depth exploratory residencies for artists, thinkers, and culture professionals hailing from all creative disciplines. In its inaugural year, Villa Albertine will host 80 residents for one- to three-month customized residencies.  

Learn More About GradFUTURES Social Impact Fellowships

GradFUTURES Social Impact Fellowships are bespoke opportunities for Princeton graduate students with nonprofit organizations that have partnered with the Graduate School. Host organizations work closely with the Graduate School to determine the learning outcomes and professional development goals for these immersive experiences. Each fellowship is custom-designed for you to apply discipline-specific skills, gain interdisciplinary project team experience, and receive one-on-one mentoring while contributing to the social impact mission of the organization.