Rhodes seniors Julia Hamilton and Samantha Ramsey have been selected for the Teaching Assistant Program in France to teach English as a Second Language in schools located in the region of Nantes, France, for 2017-2018.
The program, which has become increasingly competitive over the last few years with more than a thousand applicants, is a joint initiative of the French Ministry of Education, the Centre international d'études pédagogiques, and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy. Its goal is to strengthen English-language instruction in French schools and to provide American Francophiles with excellent teaching experience.
Applications are evaluated based on a number of criteria that are indicative of a candidate’s potential for successful participation in the program including French-language skills, experience working with children and living abroad, teaching experience, the level of the applicant’s college studies, and general motivation.
Hamilton, a French and business major from Memphis, TN, has served as a writing fellow at Rhodes and a French tutor assisting students in lower-level French classes with assignments and test preparation. She also has served as a tutor for Snowden Elementary School; a resident advisor; and a member of the Ruka, Rhodes’ intentional community in which participants also are involved in civic engagement. In 2014, Hamilton worked as a Rhodes Summer Service Fellow for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Memphis. A graduate of White Station High School, she also is a pastry cook. She was the winner of this year’s Business Plan Competition, sponsored annually by Rhodes’ E-club, created to spark entrepreneurships among area college students. Hamilton’s plan involved starting a pastry business, and she plans to learn all about French pastries during and after her internship.
Ramsey, who is pursuing a major in French and environmental studies, has served as a French tutor in addition to working as a student employee in Rhodes’ Buckman Center for International Education. In 2015, she spent a semester abroad in Rennes, France. Ramsey’s passion for environmental studies has afforded her the opportunities to serve as a Rhodes Garden Fellow; a science intern for the Global Crop Diversity Trust in Germany; and an intern for the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. A resident of Grinnell, IA, Ramsey is a graduate of Grinnell Community Senior High School.
Rhodes 2014 alumna Olivia Hipp, also will teach in France 2017-2018 in the Tours/Orléans Academy. She was president of the French Club while at Rhodes and a member of the French Honors Society.