Swiss teacher bids 'adieu' to Laney

From Geneva, Switzerland, comes Nathalie Pahud-Briquet, an English teacher at Laney since August 2005. It is a composed, smiling young woman who receives me in her little office in the Laney administration building. Busy but thoughtful, she agrees to share her experiences in the Bay Area. "Coming to the USA has always been a dream," she said. Her tone is clear; she is more than delighted to be here. 

She came to the U.S. thanks to the Fulbright program, which offers professors the opportunity to teach for one academic year in a foreign country, exchanging their place with a colleague. When she arrived, she was supposed to teach at Laney for a single year, but she extended her stay. "After being here for only a week, it was obvious to me that I wanted to stay longer than one year," she declared. "It was tricky, but I succeeded in signing up for another academic year." 

First, teaching basic English and then ESL (English as a second language), Pahud-Briquet appreciates working in a community college, an educational institution which does not exist in Europe. "At the beginning, I was struck by the poverty here. It was an eye opener," she explained. "I think the college makes knowledge accessible to anybody. It is the school that offers a last chance." 

Before coming to Laney, Pahud-Briquet was an English teacher for 19 years in Switzerland. She particularly enjoys working with the Laney staff in a "very nice atmosphere." Her colleague David Mitchell, who shares her office, describes her as a very friendly, helpful and funny person, but says that above all, she is a talented photographer. 

Indeed, arriving as an English teacher and becoming a web designer and photographer, her experience in the U.S. would foremost be one of self-realization. "Before coming here, I took pictures with my cellular phone," she confided. She now exhibits her works as a professional.

Last September, in Laney's June Steingart Gallery, she exhibited a series of portraits taken around the Bay Area. This self-taught photographer has made her way from basic cell phone pictures to artistic exhibitions. 

Her return to Switzerland is planned for May and she already fears the moment she must leave the Bay Area and a lifestyle that she likes so much. "It seems that the countdown has begun," she said. 

Pahud-Briquet's phography work can be viewed on her website www.yesterdayslife.com/photofront/nathaliepahud.