‘I see teaching as more of a long-term thing. It is a hard job, but it’s worth it as long as you love it.’

Arielle Francois, Freeport

“When I started college, I was a bio major, but I didn’t enjoy it very much. I struggled a lot, and it made it hard for me to want to be in school because I felt very defeated. I feel like a lot of STEM programs in college are very cutthroat, and it wasn’t really what I wanted to do — like I’m only doing it for family. Being Caribbean, there is a certain expectation to set an example in school. Especially me being the oldest of my siblings, I had to set that example.

“Then sophomore year, I was like, I’m gonna do what I want to do. I may not have the most lavish life, but I’m do something that I enjoy, would be good at and would give me a purpose. So, the rest of college, I majored in adolescent education with a concentration in mathematics. I scrambled to get all those credits in, as I was about a year behind, but I graduated on time.

“It is my first year teaching. It was an eye-opening experience. In undergrad, I knew the logistics of teaching, but actually being in the classroom is a different experience, especially fresh out of college. There are so many things on the job that you just don’t know until it happens. The first marking period was hard adjusting from student life to working adult. I was 21 when I started the job. Being the youngest person at my job, finding peers and people I could talk to without feeling like the kid at work, was hard. But quickly that passed, and everyone took me under.

Being Caribbean, there is a certain expectation to set an example in school.

“I see teaching as more of a long-term thing. It is a hard job, but it’s worth it as long as you love it. There needs to be more young teachers. It’s hard for kids to relate to someone teaching them when they don’t get where they’re coming from or how they feel. I would want to be there for kids to do that. I could see myself doing this for at least the next 10 years, if not more.

“Eventually, I might work in administration or take more of a leadership role in a school or a district. I’m starting my masters part time in the fall. I’ll potentially get a PhD and be a higher education professor. The possibilities are endless. I’m not a hundred percent sure what I want, but I know it’s going to have something to do with education and teaching.”

Interviewed by Victoria Bell