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Seda Chavdarian, Department of French
 
 Seda Chavdarian
 Department of French Professor Seda Chavdarian. Peg Skorpinski photo.

After observing the joy that her parents and grandparents brought to teaching, and listening to relatives speak French, which Seda Chavdarian calls "the most beautiful language," this third generation teacher said she couldn't have chosen any other career. She has been a lecturer by choice since 1988, believing that professorships take too much time away from dealing directly with students.

Always on the move, never seated behind a desk, she strives to engage her primarily undergraduate students. "I don't teach grammar in a vacuum. They're learning new ways of thinking and a new culture by learning a new language," she said.

Lital Levy, a graduate student in comparative literature who took three courses with Chavdarian, said she's never known an instructor with "a deeper love for the material, a more unflagging enthusiasm for teaching, or a more sincere interest in her students." And, Levy never left the teacher's class without a smile on her face.

"She's dynamite, just pure energy from the first second of class to the end," added Richard Kern, associate professor of French. "She's really in her element when she's with her students."

"While the class is conducted entirely in French, she will make students laugh after they have been studying the language for only a few weeks," said Françoise Sorgen-Goldscmidt, professor of French. "This is a most empowering experience for novice learners, who find satisfaction, pride, and even joy as they realize how well they can already function in their new language."

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