Three years ago, Sidney Tovar '26 was fluent in one language – Spanish. This spring, she's teaching English to high school students using French.
Sidney was born in the United States, but moved with her family to Mexico when she was only two years old. Her older siblings were in the States long enough to learn English and often spoke it at home, but everyone else, everywhere else, spoke Spanish. When Sidney began to speak, it was an unintelligible mash-up of the two languages that her aunt referred to as "French." Was that prescient, or did it plant a seed?
"My aunt used to say, 'I can't understand you. Is that French?' I guess is stuck. Also, I really like the show Miraculous Ladybug (an animated French TV show)."
For both reasons, Sidney decided to minor in French. This spring, she's participating in an immersive program in Rennes taught entirely in French. She says it's not intimidating at all because she recently went through a similar experience – a full immersion in English and American culture.
A few years ago, Sidney's father landed a job in Massachusetts. Sidney's older siblings were already in college in Mexico, so it didn't make sense to relocate. As for Sidney, she was up for the adventure. She moved with her dad to the U.S. just in time for her senior year of high school. She was forced to learn English and apply to college at the same time.
"Siena was the first college to send me a letter. The marketing drew me in, and then I really liked it the more I looked into it. I knew I would want to study abroad, and Siena offers so many options. I ended up getting accepted to every university I applied to, but I'm really happy I went with my first choice."
Once Sidney felt comfortable with English, she threw herself into French. She has an active streak of 1,778 days on Duolingo (which she calls "the best app ever") and this semester, she's thriving in an all-French environment.
"When I started speaking English, that was intimidating. But when I came here, this is fun. I'm really enjoying speaking a different language."
In fact, just for fun, Sidney is volunteering once a week as an English teacher in a French high school.
"I can bring the American perspective to the classroom. I was born there, but I've really only been immersed in the culture for a few years."
For Sidney, there's a thrill in absorbing a new culture and passing it on. Her class recently took a trip to Paris and dined on escargot at the famous Bouillon Chartier. As for what's next? The double major in economics and data science isn't sure, but for someone who loves to teach and explore internationally, applying for an English Teaching Assistant award through Fulbright is awfully appealing.
