Teaching teenagers is what reminds Madame Randall, Kingwood Park’s French teacher, of her humanity every day. They give her some of her favorite and most inspiring experiences.

However, the best part of teaching is when students recognize their successes. From “understanding a whole conversation” in French to “finally getting how the French ‘u’ is pronounced,” her student’s successes fuel her desire to teach. No matter how big or small, they make her feel victorious.

She has been teaching French here at Kingwood Park for ten years, starting the same year that the school was no longer just a ninth grade campus for KHS – but when it became Kingwood Park High School.

“I think the language is beautiful, and I especially love it when an expression I know in French is better at capturing an idea or feeling than an expression in my own language,” she said.

The language has played a big role in allowing her to realize some of her dreams. She has always had a curiosity for learning and experiencing other cultures, but her curiosity came before she started learning French.

Other than French, another language Madame Randall has learned is Arabic. It was the first foreign language she had learned. When her family moved to Saudi Arabia in her third-grade year of school, she was educated on the language. She hardly remembers any Arabic now, which she regrets.

“I think language is a fascinating window into how differently people see the world,” she said. “And I believe that the better we can understand how differently people see the world, the better world we can have.”

This idea is reflected in the way she teaches. She loves the concept of sharing a language unknown to her students with them. From teaching about French culture and the language to showing students French mythological monsters and letting them listen to Mardi Gras songs such as “Iko Iko,” a New Orleans song, Madame Randall shares her passion and curiosity through the language she teaches.

Inspired by her teachers when growing up, Madame Randall decided to teach. She aspires to inspire the way her teachers inspired her.

Because of this, she welcomes students into her class with a warm smile and an open mind, ready to satisfy the curiosity of her students and herself.