This article is one of a series of posts dedicated to our latest project, Humans of La Tour. Inspired by the successful Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton, Humans of La Tour is comprised of a series of journalistic portraits created by the Journalism students at La Tour. They seek to highlight a few of the many people who make up the La Tour community: those we see every day as our professors and classmates, as well as those whose hard work and dedication keep the school running smoothly on a daily basis.
Each portrait was created by an Anglophone Section student in Ms. Temple’s Journalism Elective as part of their final project for the Spring Semester 2021.
By Eva Darvenne Franchet (2EA)
Our final project for the Journalism Elective in the Anglophone Section was to interview a person of our choice at La Tour. I chose to interview my Spanish teacher, Ms. Prieto.
Ms. A. Prieto had always dreamed of becoming a Spanish teacher. After graduating from high school, she wanted this dream to come true, but for her it was too early, as she could not see herself leaving school just to go back to school. So, she decides to do several odd jobs in the meantime, which did not interest her very much but which would help her in the long run by allowing her to obtain the maturity it takes to teach.
She first started with a job in the tourism industry. From there, she traveled the whole world, and even went to Mauritius to visit new hotels and new circuits for future clients. She then worked in a bank and finally in a cosmetics company.
From her childhood on, Ms. Prieto has bravely faced the reality of things. Indeed, she has dual nationality (Spanish, French) which from a cultural point of view could be beneficial, but from a family point of view, less so. She has always been torn between two cultures. In fact, she had family in both countries (parents in France and grandparents and cousins in Spain) which caused a kind of lack, resulting in frustration because she never really felt in her place. When she was in France she missed her grandparents, but when she was in Spain, she missed her parents. Nevertheless, Ms. Prieto says she had a very happy childhood with one brother and one sister (she is the eldest). So, she also felt privileged: privileged to have two cultures and two nationalities and two siblings.
So for a short time, she questioned herself, but then decided to fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher. She completed a Masters degree and spent the next ten years of her life teaching at the Académie de Créteil. Eventually, she asked for a transfer to Paris because the train ride was too long. She said she had no preference for the establishment, and by pure chance she was chosen to teach at the La Tour.
During the job interview, it was the former director, Mme Chardon, who motivated her and insisted that she take the position at La Tour.
It will now be ten years that Ms. Prieto teaches at La Tour. She loves her job and as she says, “even if I am tired, I am always motivated to come to work and see my students.” During the interview, Ms. Prieto was radiant, smiling, with a happy presence, a testament to the love she has for her job.
The Tower Times Blog 