Stephen King once said, “We never know which lives we influence, or even when, or why.” This quote rings true for Vanessa Perrault, who maintains that the influence that she has been able to have on numerous students over the last six years is the primary reason that she still teaches. I met Vanessa for the first time in my sophomore year. At that time, she was working at Franklin Towne Charter High School in Philadelphia and was the director of the musicals at Saint Hubert Catholic High School for Girls, her alma mater, and the place where I would audition for their school musical. One of the reasons that I had decided to audition at Saint Hubert was because I had heard glowing reports from those who had previously acted under her.
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As I made my way to her door, I was immediately struck by the warmth and coziness of her home. After passing the wooden swing on the porch, I was welcomed by the painted walls inside her house, which she recently painted herself to give each room its own identity. Her creativity is not only exhibited inside of her house, but it is also one of the major focuses of her classroom. Once we had caught up on recent events, I had decided to ask my former director about her life as a teacher. Recalling her time when she was my age, Vanessa revealed that she had not always desired to be a teacher, but rather an editor for a magazine and that she had only decided to become a teacher after her experience working with children at a recreational center. This experience was the major cause that she had transitioned from a strict English major to a Secondary Education major with a concentration in English. Vanessa then described why she had a love for the language arts, claiming that she not only enjoyed reading as a pastime but that it allowed her to draw on her experience in theatre to create interesting lessons for her students. “It gives me an outlet for a more creative way to teach. In the classroom, it’s like being an actor,” she …show more content…
When I had met her three years ago, I simply believed that I was meeting a new director; however, I had actually met the woman who would inspire me to follow in her footsteps to teach. To once again quote Stephen King, “We never know which lives we influence, or even when, or why,” but Vanessa Perrault continues to influence lives every single day, including
As I made my way to her door, I was immediately struck by the warmth and coziness of her home. After passing the wooden swing on the porch, I was welcomed by the painted walls inside her house, which she recently painted herself to give each room its own identity. Her creativity is not only exhibited inside of her house, but it is also one of the major focuses of her classroom. Once we had caught up on recent events, I had decided to ask my former director about her life as a teacher. Recalling her time when she was my age, Vanessa revealed that she had not always desired to be a teacher, but rather an editor for a magazine and that she had only decided to become a teacher after her experience working with children at a recreational center. This experience was the major cause that she had transitioned from a strict English major to a Secondary Education major with a concentration in English. Vanessa then described why she had a love for the language arts, claiming that she not only enjoyed reading as a pastime but that it allowed her to draw on her experience in theatre to create interesting lessons for her students. “It gives me an outlet for a more creative way to teach. In the classroom, it’s like being an actor,” she …show more content…
When I had met her three years ago, I simply believed that I was meeting a new director; however, I had actually met the woman who would inspire me to follow in her footsteps to teach. To once again quote Stephen King, “We never know which lives we influence, or even when, or why,” but Vanessa Perrault continues to influence lives every single day, including