Six Holy Cross Students Earn French Government Teaching Awards

WORCESTER, Mass. – Six Holy Cross graduates from the Class of 2007 have received prestigious French Government Teaching Awards. They will be teaching English in France during the next year.

Elizabeth Blair, who received her degree in French, will be teaching in Versailles. She plans to explore France and travel throughout Europe. She lives in Newtown Square, Pa.

Catherine Hughes, who received her degree in music and French, will be teaching in Bordeaux. She was one of this year’s Fenwick Scholars, one of the highest academic honors the College bestows. She lives in Stamford, Conn.

Deirdre Lamarre, who received her degree in French and Studies in World Literature, will be teaching in Grenoble. She hopes to become a private English tutor in France. Lamarre spent her junior year abroad in Dijon, France. She lives in Laconia, N.H.

Marjorie Lane, who majored in history and minored in French, will be teaching in Rouen. She lives in Madison, Conn.

Shane Lavin, who received a degree in French and political science, will be teaching in Orleans. He spent his junior year abroad in Strasbourg, France. He lives in Queens, N.Y.

Samuel Quatromoni, who majored in English and minored in French, will be teaching in Grenoble. He lives in Portsmouth, R.I.

The French Ministry of Education and the Cultural Services at the French Embassy offer between 1,000 and 1,700 teaching assistant positions in French primary and secondary schools and in Instituts universitaires de formation des maîtres (IUFMs) in all regions of France and the DOM-TOMS (French overseas departments and territories) to U.S. citizens.

Students are expected to teach 12 hours of English conversation classes per week. They spend between 6-9 months in France with a monthly stipend; have a privileged insight into contemporary France; master the French language through linguistic immersion; and gain valuable teaching experience.