One is about to experience teaching in France for the first time, while the other is going back for a second stint.
But Ken Mersch and Stevie Dickison are both looking forward to what lies in store as they embark on the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF).
The program – a joint initiative of the French Ministry of Education, the Centre International d’Etudes Pédagogiques (International Center for Pedagogical Studies) and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy – is designed to bolster English language instruction in French schools by placing Americans in the French public school system to serve as assistant teachers.
Those chosen for the program teach 12 hours a week for a period of seven months. Positions are offered at the elementary and secondary level in all 30 regions of France and overseas in French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Mayotte, Martinique and la Réunion.
Mersch, a 2025 College of Saint Benedict graduate, and Dickison, a 2023 graduate of CSB, have been accepted into the program for the 2025-26 school year and begin their positions Oct. 1.
“I did the program already in 2023-24 and my French improved so much,” said Dickison, who this time will be teaching in the Poitiers region in western France. “I learned so much from the teachers I was around and so much from the students as well. It was an amazing opportunity to immerse yourself full-time in the French culture and make a lot of valuable connections.”
Mersch, meanwhile, will be teaching in a vocational school near the Alps in Grenoble.
“I’m hoping to gain experience teaching as I want to pursue the career in the future,” he said. “I’m also looking forward to developing my language skills and gaining new perspectives from students. I ultimately hope I’m able to make a positive impact on students’ lives while abroad.”
Mersch was history major with a minor in French at SJU.
“I’ve always thought about teaching but was never sure of what subject,” he said. “While I really enjoyed learning French, I never saw it as a possible career until my professor, Ana Conboy, recommended I apply to TAPIF. I really appreciate this opportunity because I believe that less importance is being given to language studies in school despite its relevancy in a multicultural world.”
Dickison – a global business leadership major and French minor at CSB – also credited Conboy for pointing her in the program’s direction.
“I didn’t know what I was doing after graduation and she suggested I give this a try,” Dickison said. “I owe her a lot of thanks because this has been a tremendous opportunity to experience teaching and improve my French language skills.”
Stevie Dickison
Ken Mersch