Emerson High School excitedly welcomes Molly Koshatka into the faculty as the new French teacher. Inspired by her adventures backpacking across Europe, Koshatka plans to inspire her students to explore the French speaking world.

Born in Minnesota, Koshatka has always been interested and intrigued with culture but she never saw herself getting into the teaching profession.

“I never thought I thought I was going to be a teacher. I just ended up going on a trip backpacking around parts of Europe, and I loved hearing French. So after that I decided to major in French in college, and I studied abroad for a year in France with a French family…[T]hat really helped me understand the language and fall in love with the culture.”

Koshatka spent time in her late teens and early twenties in the province of Normandy while attending university there.

“The experience helped me understand my own culture. I was able to see how other people live and see things from another viewpoint. I was very fortunate to be able to explore almost everything France had to offer..”

After attending university in Normandy, Koshkata came back to the United States ready to expand and find ways to connect her passion for France with her students. However, she has struggled with finding her place between the two cultures.

“As I get older, I think I want to retire and spend more time in France. I really feel like I’m stuck between two cultures because I love being an American, too, but I also love French culture. So that love is still there.”

During her time in Normandy, Koshatka lived with a French family that helped her strive to achieve her goal of being able to speak French fluently. However, during her time in Normandy

Koshatka struggled to adapt to her surroundings and opened up about how it affected her mentally.

“It wasn’t easy at first. I thought that maybe they’d know a little bit of English, but it was much harder to take all the French I’ve learned and start conversing with fluent speakers. I felt lost and there were some tears shed those first couple of weeks. I remember being really tired but it wasn’t until maybe six weeks in when I really felt comfortable, like I was understanding enough to know what was going on. But I had to really push myself especially those first two weeks.”

Koshatka’s vision for the French department centers around motivating students to be dedicated to their studies while contributing to their growth as learners of the language.

“I hope to at least start with my group of students. The French department is much smaller than the Spanish department but if I can help just this small group of students who elected to take French and positively change their perspective on the language and make sure that they’ve felt enriched and feel a connection to the French culture with a greater understanding of the French
speaking world.”