Q: Where did you grow up?
A: So I grew up in Montreal, Canada. I grew up there and I would spend a lot of time in France as well because that is also where my family is.
Q: Where did you go to school
A: I was educated in Montreal. In Canada I went to a French high school and it was called Collège Stanislas and after that I went to college at Université du Québec à Montréal.
Q: When did you start learning Spanish?
A: Like in Carroll ISD, Spanish did start in middle school and I took it then and finished it in high school. They actually did have Spanish classes in my college but I never took them. I never planned to actually teach Spanish and I find that kind of funny.
Q: How did you get into teaching?
A: I used to be a ski instructor in Canada because growing up I used to be a ski racer. I chose to become a ski instructor as a side job when I was in college; I kinda liked teaching the kids how to ski and how to perform so eventually I realized that I liked this and that teaching might be my thing.
Q: So since you never knew you were going to be a Spanish teacher, what got you interested in teaching Spanish?
A: When I moved to the United States, I moved directly to Southlake because my husband graduated from here in 2002. Soon he told me that I have to start teaching here. Actually my degree was in elementary education, but I started subbing for the French teacher at the senior high. The French teacher was Miss Gould and unfortunately she’s not here anymore but they were actually looking for a Spanish teacher at the time, so they asked me to teach because they noticed that I was pretty good at speaking it so that’s how I got the job, and here I am 10 years later.
Q: Was this your first job in the United States?
A: Actually, no. In 2010 I worked for a resort called Club Med in Florida. It was like a hotel resort where I was working with young kids but I wasn’t really teaching.
Q: Were you scared to teach at an American school for the first time?
A: Yeah, now that I think about it. The only experience that I got of American Schools was from movies and I was scared that they would be stereotypical teenagers that I saw in the movies. Another reason I was scared was that the American schools have a completely different system than the schools I studied in so that was new and I was scared.
Q: What do you like about your job as a teacher
A: I like to talk to kids and find out their story. I want my students to feel comfortable and safe in my classroom. I think that is number one priority over anything else. Teaching comes second by my students feeling safe and comfortable is number one according to me.
Q: Would you say Spanish is an important language to learn in high school?
A: I mean yes I do, but I feel like the language is undervalued, unfortunately. I think a lot of people do it for GPA purposes and for college requirements, but learning a new language can really open doors when you least expect it. I never thought I would be a Spanish teacher and here I am. Also when I travel the world, especially in Spanish speaking countries it is really useful. A lot of people are happy that you speak their language and they try to help you out even more.
Q: Do you want to share anything else?
A: I feel that if students need to know anything, they should try and be honest and don’t put so much pressure on yourself and soon things will work out.
