Chantal, alumni of the French American Academy (FAA), spent her formative years from 1st to 8th grade at the FAA before attending a Performing Arts High School. Now a freshman at Fordham University, where she’s majoring in Theatre, on the Performance Track, and minoring in Marketing, she reflects on the vital skills she honed during her time at FAA and how they continue to shape her today.
Attended FAA: 1st to 8th Grade
Current School: Fordham University
“ all the diverse students I met there [FAA] and all the friends I made who were from other countries or had different ethnicities than me. And being able to hear about their life story or where they’re from definitely made me like, gain more perspectives on the world, which is always a valuable thing to have..”
Q: What was your favorite thing about the FAA?
For Chantal, the FAA’s small, close-knit environment was key. “I liked that it was a small school, and the classes weren’t that big. It allowed me to make more friends and feel really close to my friends and teachers. I feel like I was always very close to my teachers, and I could go to them for things for school and things outside of school.”
The school’s field trips, which are part of the school’s curriculum, also stand out in her memories. “I really loved field trips, going on those week-long overnight field trips. You know, one of my first overnight school trips in third grade was to the Catskills, and then, from fourth grade through seventh grade, we went to places like DC, Philly, Boston, Canada, and Connecticut.”
Chantal also highlights the ample opportunities she had at the FAA, particularly when it came to performing and presenting. “I really liked all the shows I was part of during my elementary and middle school years, especially when we were able to start creating and writing our own shows. That was a really good way, especially when I was so young, to get into my imagination and my creativity.”
She also mentioned, “I also liked having a speech at graduation. It was like a lot of cries. I cried throughout my whole speech. We were able to write a speech and say it, and it was just a really good way to close my FAA chapter.”
Q: How did learning in a bilingual environment shape you?
Chantal notes how learning in both French and English provided more than just language skills, “Learning languages in itself is already such a great skill. For the mind, training your mind really works when you’re learning two languages, and it’s also like it’s good in life to know two languages.”
She explains how the dual-language curriculum deepened her academic experiences. “And then, in other subjects like history, I learned European history in my French class, and I learned about French history. But at the same time, I’ve been learning about my American history, revolutions, and everything, and I really liked having two history classes because I got both sides of it explained and get both sides. It really helps enhance the learning experience.”
She also credits the FAA with broadening her global awareness. “I think it definitely opens my mind up to different perspectives. And it’s really good to have that. And so then you, as a young kid growing up, it teaches you that there is more than just one perspective. There is more than just an American view of things.”
Q: How did your time at FAA prepare you for the challenges of High School and College?
Chantal reflects on the projects she completed at FAA and the lessons they taught her. “We’re doing a lot of group work, and that’s another way to find friends and also build communication skills and teamwork skills. Learning to work with people at such a young age is a really good thing. I think because you’re going to need that skill for the rest of your life in college, in high school, and in jobs in the future, you’re always going to need to know how to work with other people.”
She adds, “I can say, yeah, that I think I’ve done a lot of presentations and projects in the FAA that definitely prepared me for high school. And when I got to high school, it almost felt like, I guess high school was hard, don’t get me wrong. But at first it almost felt easier. The workload almost felt lighter from the FAA because the FAA really prepared me for the world. Yes, I developed academic skills, but also life skills, like communication, for example. And that’s a really good part of the FAA that I really love.
“I think learning both languages at the same time and having a double curriculum, almost like a double schedule. I had almost every class in English and French. So it was almost like double the work. But that really helped me since it was like I started so young. It was kind of the only thing I knew, so it felt more normal for me.”
She continues “That definitely helped me learn tactics and studying and a lot of time management and organizational skills that I carry on to this day.
And like I said, balancing my work. And that’s a skill that people need to have their whole lives, even outside of school, balancing schoolwork or a job and social life. And as a college student, I have so many new classes and a new schedule.
And it’s really all about managing your time and not procrastinating. And that definitely got ingrained in my mind, to stay on track with your work, which will be a lifelong skill.”
Q: What made you get into performing arts?
Chantal’s passion for performing arts began at the FAA. She proudly mentions that she was one of the 40 students admitted to Fordham’s highly selective Theater program, “I think this was seventh grade. We did this storywriting unit in groups of two. We all wrote a story, then we voted on which story was our favorite, and we turned that story into a movie we made.
And yeah, it was just a whole lot of fun putting all that together. Like I said, it’s all about creativity and imagination and writing down your ideas on paper and then bringing it to life and actually seeing it in a media form in front of your face, and it’s really cool to see your work come to life.”
Q: Do you think attending an international school with students from different nationalities shaped your perspective on the world?
Chantal shares how the diverse student body at FAA expanded her worldview. “Yeah, and like I was saying about languages and learning about France, it’s the same thing with all the diverse students I met there [FAA] and all the friends I made who were from other countries or had different ethnicities than me. And being able to hear about their life story or where they’re from definitely made me like, gain more perspectives on the world, which is always a valuable thing to have.
It also forced me to think about the perspective of other places in the world. There’s so much more out there. And I love that there were so many diverse students that I did become friends with to learn about their place.
That’s what I love about the FAA. It’s like, we’re not stuck in one box of the same type of people. It’s people from all over the place, from different towns, coming and coming together.”
Through her years at FAA, Chantal built a foundation of confidence, teamwork, and global awareness—qualities that will undoubtedly continue to guide her through college and beyond.
