Are you aware of how decorated and awarded our French teacher and students are nationally? Each year students take a national French exam and Trinity has the pleasure of having our first Platinum winner in recent years. Platinum means the student was ranked first in the nation by submitting a perfect exam with every question answered correctly! In addition to our Platinum winner, over the years Mrs. Susini has tallied up 50 national medals for her students in the Bronze, Silver, and Gold categories.
Mrs. Susini will be entering her tenth year of teaching at Trinity this fall. Her favorite thing about teaching at Trinity is her camaraderie with her colleagues, her passion for Jesus and French, and her love of sharing it with students. Mrs. Susini has quite a resume herself, holding a Master’s Degree in French, and she was also voted French Teacher of the Year in the State of Kentucky in 2020 by the Kentucky World Language Association. Her recognition is well deserved, not only for her talent and passion for French, but also for her servant leadership heart. She has served as President of the Association of French Teachers for the State of Kentucky, taken students to the KY World Language Showcase, involved students in the Young Artist Competition with Lexington’s French sister city of Deauville, and also coordinated the Sister City of Deauville Student Exchange. Being involved in all of these community activities really highlights the quality of our French program and how it teaches our students to take their learning of French into the real world!
Years ago, Mrs. Susini felt the Lord prompting her to take students abroad to France. With much prayer and communication with trusted advisors she learned of a Christian organization called Institut de Jacques Lefevre in Merville – Franceville. They usually work with college students, but with the persuasive communication by Mrs. Susini and the commitment by our students, they agreed to host Trinity high school students on the very first school trip to France. For years now, Mrs. Susini has been taking students to France every other year over Spring Break! We are so thankful for Mrs. Susini and the time she dedicates to create an experience abroad at such an affordable price. Mrs. Susini and twelve students just returned from France described a trip for the memory books! Beyond just a sight-seeing trip, the students helped Mr. Darling (the organization’s leader) in several service projects in the community, allowing our students to give something back to France.
So you might wonder, isn’t French a difficult language to learn? Under the careful and patient guidance of Mrs. Susini, our students thrive. If you ask past students about her classes they will give you this advice: “It can be difficult, so whatever you do, do not get behind, stay current on your homework, seek help when needed and the skills and language will build a layer at a time.” Mrs. Susini holds a high bar in her classroom, but she’s also a lot of fun, too. The students have engaging, fun activities that support their learning. These years of French are sure to benefit the students on their college applications, and maybe even test out of a foreign language at the college level. Many of our students have taken French beyond high school!
Mrs. Susini’s passion for French has carried over to some of her alumni… with at least three students at the University of Kentucky majoring in French and a fourth with a minor in French. Mrs. Susini and French professors at UK want to keep the French language alive in our community. Mrs. Susini tells us that there is a large Congolese community here in Lexington, and she has even used her French language to help a stranger in the grocery store, proving you never know how God will use this gift. In Mrs. Susini’s spare time, she leads the Trinity French Club at lunch, leads the 9th-12th grade women’s Bible study, and coaches cross country and track for distance runners. She’s involved with outreach for the Kentucky Refugee Ministries working with youth, and her heart is to return to Togo, Africa, for another mission trip. We are beyond blessed to have you as our beloved Madame Susini. Thank you; what you do matters!
