French has always been a big part of my life…

French and English have always existed side by side in my life. I began attending the Lycée Français de New York at age three and grew up learning in both languages with French teachers. French wasn’t a subject I picked up later—it was one of the languages in which I learned, thought, and communicated from the beginning.

My education extended well beyond the classroom. My family lived in Lyon for a year, where I attended a local French public school. We have also traveled extensively throughout France and Switzerland and spent time in Morocco, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire. These experiences gave me not only fluency, but an instinctive understanding of how French sounds and is used in different places and everyday situations.

Because I learned French pronunciation and rhythm from early childhood, I speak with a natural metropolitan French accent. At the same time, I understand exactly where English speakers tend to struggle—and I can explain difficult French concepts clearly in English when that’s the most effective way to move forward.

While still in high school, I earned the DELF B2 certification and received a perfect score of 5 on both the AP French exam and the AP English Language and Composition exam. My French proficiency also qualified me for an exemption from Tufts University’s foreign-language requirement. I’m now an undergraduate at Tufts.

“I want French to feel less like a subject you’re being tested on and more like a language you can actually use.”