New College of Florida Student Marilee Pray Awarded French Teaching Assistantship

(May 18, 2010) Marilee Pray, a graduating senior at New College of Florida from Sanford, Florida, will travel to France next year under a Foreign Language Teaching Assistantship awarded by the French Government.  She is the 13th New College student since 2000 to be awarded a prestigious French Government Teaching Assistantship.

“I have not gotten a specific assignment yet, but I’ll be in the department of Aix-Marseille,” says Marilee, whose area of concentration was Literature/ French Language and Literature. “I, like many of my peers, aren’t quite sure what to do with ‘the rest of my life’– there’s so much life left! Going to France means I have an opportunity to live a life different from the one I currently am living, without having to commit to one certain future.

“I plan on using the time to improve my French, to explore what it’s like being in the role of an educator, and to write about the different people I encounter while there,” she added.  “I don’t know if I want to be a professor, a teacher, a writer, or some combination of those things. This assistantship means I can gain practice applicable to all three.”

The French Ministry of Education and the Cultural Services at the Embassy of France offer approximately 1,500 teaching assistant positions in French primary and secondary schools, as well as in various French teaching colleges. This is a unique opportunity for young American citizens to gain valuable teaching experience by spending between six to nine months in France or in one of its overseas departments. The grant program facilitates the mastery of the French language through linguistic immersion, while at the same time offering insights into contemporary France.

For more information, please contact the Office of Public Affairs at (941) 487-4153 or email [email protected].