Kukurugya-Rabaut, '13, Receives French Teaching Assistantship

May 16, 2013

Recent graduate Genevieve Kukurugya-Rabaut heads for France later this year, at the invitation of the French government. Kukurugya-Rabaut was accepted to the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF), a program of the national government that provides American English teachers for the public school system. She will spend seven months teaching in the Versailles area, near Albion's sister cities of Noisy-le-Roi and Bailly.

"I freaked out a little—it is such an exciting thing, but seven months in a country alone is not something to take lightly!" said Kukurugya-Rabaut. "This is exactly what I need at this point in my life, so I'm getting pretty excited."

Kukurugya-Rabaut credits professor Dianne Guenin-Lelle with introducing her to TAPIF, but notes that her overall Albion experience strengthened her candidacy for the program. "I feel confident in my linguistic abilities because of the professors here, and I already have something of a community in France, having traveled to Bailly/Noisy-le-Roi twice in the past three years and made connections with people there," she said. "In a lot of ways, Albion's French department has provided me with the capabilities to accept this type of position."

Kukurugya-Rabaut graduated from Albion College magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, receiving degrees in art and French with an art history minor.