Where Are They Now? Fred Cadeau, Former French Teacher

I have taught English at Institution Saint Martin, in Angers, France, for four years, since I came back from the U.S. I teach English at the junior high and high school. It is a great place to work because the students are really nice and interested, and it is in the middle of the city of Angers, in the Loire Valley.

 

This year, I also started to teach at the university level, at the Université Catholique de l'Ouest in Angers (my alma mater). I teach international relations in English for undergraduates. I miss Groton and the Boston area very much—so much that I started an exchange with Concord Academy last year, which will take place every other year. Rebecca Stanton and I are organizing an exchange with Groton School, so it will give me the opportunity to "go back home" and show my French students how great Groton is. As you can see, I'm trying to make the best of both worlds!

 

The many lifelong friendships with people I now consider family. I am the godfather of [former director of recent graduate relations] Drew Millikin's second son, Emmett, and I keep in touch on a regular basis with the Frys, Rebecca Stanton, and [former intern] Matt Westman and his family. Other highlights would be the multiple dinners or outings with friends from Groton (biking to Ayer at night with friends, Thanksgiving dinners at the Frys), the jokes about Madame Stanton's hair, the hours spent on the soccer fields with [former assistant athletic director] Sarah Mongan and the girls varsity soccer team or on the squash courts with Nishad Das or Luis Viacava, the breakfasts at Tiny's with my advises. Fun moments with great people!

 

The close relationships and the warm atmosphere stand out for me when I think of working at Groton. I felt so rapidly at home at Groton, where everybody helped me to fit in. Never before had I felt so comfortable in a place so foreign to me.

 

The funny story I remember from Groton is the prank Drew Millikin, Matt Westman, and I pulled on Steve "Brad" Marchand at the end-of-year faculty party the year the Bruins won the Stanley Cup. We had him introduced by [former headmaster] Rick Commons as a faculty member leading a tough double life: librarian at Groton during the day and professional hockey player for the Bruins at night. We printed posters of Brad Marchand and added Steve's face on it and even offered him a fake Stanley Cup made of tin foil ... the kind of prank I keep doing in France!

 

One lesson I learned from teaching/coaching at Groton is actually not really a lesson but much more than that: my teaching has completely changed since my years at Groton, and I now feel more comfortable and "connected" with my students, as I always want to start from what they feel or what they have to say about different topics.