CONWAY, Ark. (July 22, 2013) – Gretchen McCarthy, a
sophomore from St. Louis, Mo., taught French and English this summer to children
in Saint Louis, Senegal.
McCarthy worked as a volunteer for a month in a care center
that offered classes to children who do not attend school. Her project was part
of the Projects Abroad program.
A French and Spanish double major, her project goals were
to figure out if she truly wanted to pursue a career in education and to push
herself out of her comfort zone.
Despite her proficiency in French, McCarthy felt that the
biggest obstacle was her communication with students, particularly with the
younger students who spoke only Wolof, a native Senegalese language.
In addition to improving her French, McCarthy gained a new
perspective on teaching and learning, something she wants to bring back to
Hendrix with her, in addition to her desire to inspire others who also want to
teach abroad.
Upon her graduation from Hendrix, McCarthy wants to be an
elementary foreign language teacher.
“I loved when I would quiz some of the older students on
the lesson from the day before and they would remember almost everything,” she
said. “That was a great feeling.”
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is a national leader in
engaged liberal arts and sciences education. For the fifth consecutive year,
Hendrix was named one of the country’s “Up and Coming” liberal arts colleges by
U.S. News and World Report. Hendrix
is featured in the 2012 edition of the Princeton Review as one of the country’s
best 377 colleges, the latest edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change
the Way You Think about Colleges, Forbes magazine's annual
list of America's Top 650 Colleges, and the 2013 edition of the
Fiske Guide to Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist
Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.