Academic Program: Modern Languages, French
Masters or PhD Program: Masters
Degrees you currently have: B.A. French
Preferred Pronouns: she/her
Why did you select your program?
I decided to pursue a master's degree in French in order to achieve my goal of becoming a French Professor. My goal is to facilitate French language learning and make the process more enjoyable for students. The Modern Languages and Literatures program at UNL provided courses and learning opportunities that aligned with this objective. Additionally, the faculty played a significant role in my decision to join the program.
What has been your best experience as a graduate student at Nebraska?
My best experiences as a graduate student were in the classroom setting as a teaching assistant. I love teaching and I had some of the best students at UNL! Discovering new ways of teaching and connecting with students under the guidance of the faculty was all so gratifying. I was the proudest instructor when I saw my students putting in the work and consequently being successful both in and ouside the classroom. I found that at the end of every semester, not only did my students learn from me, I learnt a great deal from them as well, one of which is definitely resilience. I have to say that all these experiences make me want to achieve my goal of being a French professor one day all the more.
Who have been some of your strongest mentors or role models here?
I look up to all the faculty members in the French section at DMLL including Prof. Stump, Dr. Schauer, Dr. Peterson and Dr. Frengs. They are all so brilliant and I have loved each and every course that I took with them (translation and courses of the Medieval French Literature certainly do have a special place in my heart though). I have to add that I particularly admire Catherine Johnson, the course coordinator for the French section. Her professionalism, her guidance and patience made my experience as a teaching assissant much easier and so much fun. Plus, she is literally the sweetest person I have ever met! I hope to be as hardworking as her one day.
Do you have research experience? If so, please describe.
I did not realise my love for literary research until I got to UNL. After spending a year with the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, I discovered that I had a passion for literary analysis and writing papers. The process is certainly not the easiest but I found that I truly enjoyed it; for instance, reading a book, identifying a recurring trend; attempting to understand and explain that trend often with literary theories within the societal context and the time period of the book became the process of literary analysis for me. With the kind of exposure to various books of various epoques that I had in the program, I have explored diverse topics and pursued different ideas, some of which became research papers that I am very proud of. I hope to publish them someday.
What are your plans once you have earned the degree?
After earning my degree, I will be pursuing a PhD at the University of Maryland, College Park beginning next fall. I hope to continue to explore various topics while developing teaching skills both of which will enable me become a French professor in future.
