Lisa Gentile, PhD

Given a tenacious intellectual curiosity, I view education as a life-long pursuit. One of my primary roles as an educator is to pass on a love of learning. With over a decade of teaching experience in French language, society, and culture as well as comparative health policy, my training in multiple disciplines allows me to draw on broad foundations to offer a richer student experience.

After doing undergraduate work in International Studies at Pepperdine University, I lived and worked on a farm in southern France. This turned out to be a crucial formative experience and a decisive moment for me that allowed me to master the language and become deeply connected to the culture. France would forever thereafter be a second home.

Although I went on to earn a Master’s in Law and Diplomacy at the Fletcher School at Tufts University with a specialization in environmental policy and European politics and history, rural French life retained its appeal, so I went back to Provence to raise goats and make artisanal cheese. Though the comparison may not at first glance seem obvious, I often joke with my students that they remind me of a herd of bleating goats.

Later, after pursuing graduate studies in French language and literature at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, I obtained my Ph.D. in French Studies and Politics from New York University where I wrote my dissertation on the French health care system. Finally, I landed in the Tarn region of France in study abroad management and teaching where I developed courses in language and culture as well as comparative health care systems for both American and French university students.

Having spent half of my adult life living in different parts of France (Provence, Paris, the Tarn Valley), I divide my time often between France and Las Vegas where I grew up and still have family and friends.

On teaching: My aim as an educator is to impart a passion for learning, deep study, and academic rigor. That being said, I still recall being a student myself sitting in world language class with all the anxieties that often accompany second language learning. Therefore, I make it a priority to put the learner at ease. I think we can hold high expectations all while having fun. In my language classes, I am accustomed to the immersive approach and believe firmly in remaining in the target language as much as possible from the outset. My interactive style makes for a lot of participation on the part of students. Whatever the subject, my goal is always to stimulate further interest, to challenge preconceptions and assumptions, and to promote critical thinking and analysis.