EFAP Generations: communication, a family story from Lille to Toulouse

At EFAP, stories of transmission are not uncommon, but Amélie and her daughter Jeanne's story has a very special flavor. A graduate of the class of 2000 from the Lille campus, Amélie Ternaux is now Communications, Marketing, and Customer Experience Director for Groupe De Boussac Automobiles. An inspiring career path that found a unique echo in her daughter. Currently in her 3rd year at the Toulouse campus, Jeanne is about to enter a Specialized MBA with the ambition of moving towards the music industry or audiovisual production sectors. 

Yet, nothing was written in advance! Between an unconscious vocation, the randomness of career guidance research, and the rigor of the famous "Battles", discover the shared perspectives of this mother-daughter bond.

Two eras, two campuses (Lille and Toulouse), but the same DNA: that of a communication spark passed down from generation to generation.

 Transmission as a legacy

 

> Hello Jeanne! Did the fact that your mom went to EFAP trigger your career choice, or did you discover the school on your own?

Jeanne: My desire to study communications and marketing certainly comes from my mom. I grew up watching her work, going to her office; I loved the dimension of exchange and creativity. When I was younger, she helped me a lot with the creative side of my school projects or slideshows. On the other hand, finding the school was total coincidence! I found EFAP by doing my own research. When I saw it was well-ranked, I told my mother I wanted to go to the Open House. That's when she laughed and told me: "But I went to that school when I was young!". It made me even more interested, but it remained a purely personal choice.

> Amélie, what was your reaction the day Jeanne told you: "I want to apply to EFAP"?

Amélie: It made me smile a lot! It was very funny because we hadn't really talked about my educational background before. Jeanne was a very good student in her final year of high school and had several options. She brought up communications quite late. When she mentioned this path, I invited her to do a one-week internship with my team to test the waters and make sure of her choice. She then took all the steps, went to the Open House, and passed several entrance exams on her own. I was thrilled because I had absolutely loved my time there.

> Exactly Jeanne, what did you do during that one-week internship with your mom?

Jeanne: I was integrated into the team alongside my mother's work-study student. I was able to follow the entire content creation process, editorial calendar planning, and event management for De Boussac Automobiles. They even let me design my first small Canva visuals for internal flyers. It was this hands-on internship that definitively convinced me: I loved the dynamics, the strategy, the organization, and the cross-functional exchanges with all departments.

> Seeing Jeanne take her first steps, did you find in her the same curiosity or the same instinct that you had at her age?

Amélie: Absolutely. At her age, after my Bachelor's degree in Literature, I was writing articles as a freelancer, but something was missing. I wanted to go further than just writing: I loved going to events, taking photos, talking to people, interviewing... Seeing Jeanne's enthusiasm and initiative in the field, I recognized that exact same spark.

 The clash of eras

 

> Amélie, what was daily life like for an EFAP student in the early 2000s?

Amélie: The pace was very intense. Work-study programs as we know them today didn't exist. We were in full-time internships in companies during the day, and we had classes in the evening from 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm. The final year was very demanding, especially since we had to write and defend a thesis. As for the infrastructure, the Lille campus was a small building right in the city center. The classes were human-sized, around 25 to 30 students per class. The subjects were close to those of today (corporate and institutional strategy, writing modules) — minus digital and social media, of course!

> Jeanne, when you hear your mother's story, what differences or similarities stand out to you?

Jeanne: The first big difference is the schedule: fortunately, we no longer have classes from 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm, and that suits me just fine! On the other hand, the major similarity lies in the project-based learning. EFAP has kept this strength: it's perfect for profiles that need practical experience, doing things rather than learning by heart. We are constantly pushed to create and adapt.

> If we had to define the "EFAP DNA", what hasn't changed between the class of 2000 and the class of 2026?

Amélie: Without hesitation, the fact that most courses are taught by active professionals and the teamwork on real business cases. That's what won me over back then, and it's what still endures today.

Jeanne: I agree! This week, I am right in the middle of a "Big Battle". By asking my mom about her own challenges back then, I realized it's exactly the same thing: the same pace of deliverables in record time, the same excitement, and the same pressure. There is also a real requirement from the speakers who challenge us, and that is what makes EFAP students so valuable on the job market.

> Speaking of which Jeanne, what have been your most memorable group projects or "Battles" in Toulouse?

Jeanne: In my 1st year, we worked for Secours Populaire. In our 2nd year, we collaborated with Refresh, a Toulouse-based influence agency, to design an influencer campaign for the Toulouse Blagnac shopping center. In our 3rd year, we had a digital project for Ludilabel (a personalized label brand). And the most memorable remains the current Battle with Parc Astérix! The stakes are huge since the winning campus team gets a trip to the theme park for the national final. Needless to say, everyone is giving it their all!

 Crossed perspectives on the future

 

> Amélie, how do you view Jeanne's professional future? What is your best advice as a mother and as a Communications Director?

I have total confidence in her future and no doubt about her ability to succeed on this path. The advice I give Jeanne — and which I also apply with the young work-study students in my teams — is:

 

> Jeanne, what do you admire most about your mom's career path that you would like to replicate?

What I admire most is that she never gives up! She is always 100% committed to what she does, while keeping a smile: she laughs all the time and knows how to build strong connections with people. She also keeps a very close eye on new trends; she never rests on her laurels. In the future, I truly hope to be as dynamic and human as she is in my career.