German. English. French. Japanese. Spanish. Italian.

Across the spectrum of languages, professor Pierre Etienne has familiarized himself with the world of possibilities that come with being multilingual, and after almost 40 years of teaching, he grows more and more appreciative of culture every with every passing day. Etienne completed his undergraduate work at Middlebury College in Vermont and received his Baccalauréat degree at the Lycée Charlemagne in Paris. Though the study of languages has always been a passion of his, it wasn’t until his time as a graduate student at Tufts University in Boston that he realized his path was leading him towards a career in teaching. His first ever class as a teaching assistant led him to realize that his passion for learning languages could quite literally be translated into his love for teaching.

Etienne has been a professor at COC for 20 years – this comes, of course, after having taken classes at UCLA and the Japanese Cultural Center in his endless pursuit of language development. Here at COC, Etienne has taught every single French class that the college has to offer, as well as a Humanities course at the 100 level, and the French 150 course every other year as part of the “Summer in Paris” program. “The best part of my profession is the the exchange of ideas and experiences that I have with my students,” Etienne shares, emphatically expressing his disdain for online teaching. “The best part of my study – languages – is that it allows me to communicate with people from all over and discover the world.” As a professor, Etienne works to ensure that his students leave his classroom with a thirst for knowledge and a desire to be an open-minded and engaged citizen of the world. For him, everything is about exploring and the never-ending pursuit of knowledge and experience alongside culture. Off campus, Etienne spends time with his wife perusing The New York Times, and he makes it a point to expand upon his culinary palate by including a mix of food from countries all over the world. A testament to this is his love of Amandine, a French-Japanese-Korean café that he and his wife frequent in Los Angeles.

Traveling, reading, writing, swimming, and cooking are just a few of Etienne’s interests. He also collects dice and smoking paraphernalia for aesthetic purposes, and in terms of the future, he’s plann’s planning to place even more of an emphasis on his traveling bucket list, including Buenos Aires, Portugal, Senegal, and Antarctica – yes, Antarctica (before it melts, of course)! Needless to say, this professor has racked up an impressive cultural resume, and he has many plans for the future when it comes to expanding upon his worldly experiences. “I often tell my students that I have no wisdom but lots of experience,” he says. “I believe that you should take your work and other people seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously.” And as for the last piece of life advice that he has to offer. “Get a passport!”