Wellesley College Graduates Win French Government
Teaching Assistantships

July 18, 2010

WELLESLEY, Mass.— Four 2010 graduates of Wellesley College will embark on a new adventure this fall as winners of French Government Teaching Assistantships in English.

Wellesley College graduate Orly Sibony, pictured above at Notre Dame Cathedral, is one of four 2010 graduates who will teach in France this year.

Caitlin Danis , a mathematics and French major from Philadelphia, Pa.; Esther Hugenberger, a French major from Boston, Mass.; Orly Sibony, a sociology major from Sherman Oaks, Calif.; and Jackeline Silva, a French major from Hialeah, Fla., have all been named recipients of the award, which is a joint initiative of the French Ministry of Education, the Centre International d’Etudes Pédagogiques (CIEP) and the Cultural Services Department of the French Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The program aims to strengthen English language instruction in the French educational system through the establishment of a native speaker presence. The experience also provides future teachers of French in the United States with excellent teaching experience and first-hand knowledge of French language and culture.

“Things I plan to do abroad: visit good friends I made while studying abroad on the Wellesley-in-Aix program, take in the heavenly smell of freshly baked bread, go hiking and dancing,” said Hugenberger, who will teach at L ycée  Marcel Pagnol, a high school in Marseille, France. “My plans for after I am abroad: Go abroad again.”

Sibony — who will teach at the elementary school Ecole du Parc in Vanves, just south of Paris— said she is most looking forward to reconnecting with her Parisian host family and friends she made while studying abroad in Paris her junior year at Wellesley.

“I've missed them tremendously. The French may not have a reputation for being friendly, but once you become their friend, you are friends for life,” she said. “Also, I'm looking forward to learning about a new side of French life. I'm sure there is so much more to learn about French life, culture and language by working as opposed to being an American exchange student with few responsibilities.”

Since 1875, Wellesley College has been a leader in providing an excellent liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world.  Its 500-acre campus near Boston is home to 2,300 undergraduate students from all 50 states and 75 countries.

###