In honor of the 2016 RMA Prom being a complete success, we have decided to do a Faculty Focus on the one of the key leaders for putting the dance together: Ms. O’Brien! Along with the help of Ms. Knox and Ms. Carter, Ms. O’Brien played an essential role in prom setup and organization. Ms. O’Brien is the Rocky Mount Academy French teacher, who teaches many different levels of French. Ms. O’Brien has been with us for a decent amount of time now and students thoroughly enjoy learning French with her. She is fun, energetic, and entertaining and she thoroughly enjoys what she does which is why she is so successful in teaching.  To get to know this Tennessee native, read her responses to our questions!

What college did you attend?  

I went to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

What are your hobbies outside of school?

As all of my students could probably tell you, I am a devoted listener of podcasts.  I also love to cook, read (articles and books), share articles I’ve liked with people (yes, I am a huge nerd), and watch YouTube beauty tutorials.

What is a little known fact about you?    

I know every word to the first 2 verses of Tupac’s California Love.

What is your favorite type of music?

As every person in the world has said when asked about their musical tastes, I like lots of different kinds. But I have a particular fondness for 90s R&B, early 2000s Hip Hop, and Soul music (Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, etc.).

What is your favorite thing about RMA?  

I love the sense of community here and the way everyone looks out for each other.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

I would say it is working with my students, getting to know them, and seeing them grow into the people they are going to be. It’s a fun experience to share my knowledge, and then learn from them as well.  On my part, I love seeing the lightbulb go off when they finally make a connection about something and it “clicks”. On their end, for example, I like being able to ask them about things on the internet I don’t understand so I can stay current on what’s happening. Also, learning teen slang and seeing words & how they change is fascinating to me as a language teacher. As nerdy as it sounds, I just love learning, whether it’s about current trends or things happening in France via the news. So getting to do what I do is hugely rewarding for me in that way.

What (or who) inspired your career choice?

After college, I was planning on going to graduate school to become a therapist (I have a degree in Psychology in addition to my French one). I took a year off to move to France and teach English, where, in the process, I could think about my future.  I discovered that I really loved teaching, was good at it, and that that was where my heart was. I decided to go into education instead, and the rest is history!

What is a pet peeve of yours?

It drives me crazy when people try to be fancy with grammar and language, but what they end up saying is overcorrecting and, in reality, wrong. Examples include: I feel badly, I’m well (when talking about your mood that day), and between you and I.

Ironically enough, I also hate when people speak English, get to a French word (like croissant or crêpe) and put a very strong accent on just that one word. We are speaking English, and, to quote the movie Joe Dirt, you don’t have to church it up.

Can you describe your life before RMA?

I grew up in Nashville, TN, so I see a lot less live music and concerts than I used to. I also have to specify which Nashville I’m from, something I’ve never had to do before I moved here.

Other than that, I don’t know that my life was that different from how it is now. I probably work more, but I still enjoy the same things and am the same person.