From Professor to Pupil: Lifelong Learners in the Language Classroom

Those who believe learning is a lifelong process should look to these two students as inspiration. The couple met in Herter Hall when Jean-Pierre Berwald was a professor for the then department of French and Italian, and Priscilla was taking language courses to help her in her studies of classical music. With her understanding of Italian, French, Spanish, and some German, she went on to host and produce a radio show for Amherst’s national public radio member station for over twenty years. After her tenure at WFCR she used her language skills in travel, planning excursions for private groups for about twelve years, and has since retired. Jean-Pierre was one of the pioneers of the MAT (masters of arts in teaching) program for the French and Italian departments, of which many UMass students participate to this day. After retiring in 2002, he and his wife returned to campus to enroll in different language courses as students. We are so thankful for the passion for world languages they bring to the classroom, as well as the unique perspective that comes along with being a student after teaching or having a career for so long. They believe the connections we make in the classroom to both peers and faculty have a powerful impact on our education.