This week’s teacher spotlight shines on Mrs. Lori Pierce of the foreign language department. She currently teaches French, German and Latin at MSMS.  Pierce was born in Florida and grew up in Arkansas. She attended Brigham Young University in Utah for her BA and MBA. She then lived in Georgia before coming to teach at MSMS.

Pierce developed an interest in languages back in high school when she took French in order to obtain an honors diploma. However, she wasn’t initially a fan of teaching. She “hated all the paperwork and parents.” This was one of the reasons for her decision to obtain an MBA and leave teaching for 20 years. She eventually decided to give it a second shot, and that is when she discovered MSMS.

Out of the four languages that she speaks, English, French, Latin, and German, Pierce does not possess a favorite. She advises those who are trying to learn languages to “Don’t give up. That’s really the only important thing. It wasn’t easy and I didn’t have a knack for it, but I was determined to do it so I never quit and just kept looking for opportunities to enhance what I was learning in the classroom and put it into practice.”

Senior Hayden Stokley commented on Mrs. Pierce. “Mrs. Pierce is an amazing teacher. She’s really passionate about teaching students about different languages. I was in her French II class junior year and she made learning about French feel like less of a chore and more like an exciting way to stretch my mind.”

Junior Kelsey Hollingsworth expanded on Stokley’s comments. “One of my favorite things about Mrs. Pierce’s class is that I never know what to expect. She always has something new and interesting when I walk into class.”

Outside of the classroom, Pierce sponsors the Asian Student Association, French Club and Latin Club. Each of these clubs are focused on discussing, exploring and learning about different languages and cultures. Asian Student Association has recently started weekly Chinese classes.

“Mrs. Pierce has given us a lot of support for the Chinese classes. Without her support, it would not be possible,” said Jim Zhang, one of the teachers of the Chinese classes.

To motivate those who aren’t as interested in language, Pierce leaves a famous quote by Nelson Mandela. “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”