When Professor Maryse Mijalski steps into a classroom, her long-lasting passion for teaching the French language unfolds, taking students on a lecture-long cultural and linguistic journey. As a first-generation student from Normandy, France, Mijalski understands the difficulties first-generation and independent students face.
“As a student, my parents didn’t go any further than high school. I relate with those students who are first generation here at UCI,” Mijalski told New University.
During her life in France, Mijalski was always interested in literature and culture. When she studied in school in France, she was primarily interested in German and English, realizing that learning foreign languages was one of her primary academic interests.
Even though she knew of her passion for literature, languages and culture, she didn’t know where that passion would take her. Mijalski left France at the age of 21, spending one year in Dublin, Ireland, as an exchange student before eventually coming to the United States.
“At the time, I was able to work, and I worked as a waitress for maybe four years before I decided that I was able to go back to school, which was a lot less expensive than now,” Mijalski said. “And [my trajectory’s] not linear at all, so I went back to UCI and, so I think I knew that I wanted to teach, when I actually started teaching in grad school as a teaching assistant — I really loved it.”
After saving up enough money and building a stable foundation for life in the United States, Mijalski decided to go back to her studies and further her education, pursuing passions that were developed during her school years.
Mijalski attended UC Irvine, completing both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in French Literature, while also pursuing a minor in Spanish.
“After attending grad school, I stopped for a while because I raised a family and I went back to get a doctorate in education at the University of Southern California (USC). But while I was doing that, I was also working full time. So I understand what it’s like working full time and studying,” Mijalski said.
Mijalski’s time at USC was challenging, with the primary difficulty being a healthy work-life balance. Studying for an Ed.D. while working full-time and raising a family is no easy feat, but through her dedication and passion towards her studies, she eventually obtained her degree.
In 2004, Mijalski was hired as a part-time lecturer at UCI, later transitioning to full-time.
“It’s not always easy. One thing, though, one upside of this that I found is that you have to be focused. So in a way, when I did my Ed.D. at USC … I had to drive to Los Angeles,” Mijalski said. “It helped me really focus — being focused — because I could not procrastinate.”
As difficult as studying for an Ed.D. while balancing multiple responsibilities was, Mijalski always made the most of her situation. Her most memorable moments were working with her peers and colleagues, with whom she still works to this day. Getting an Ed.D. was challenging, but in the end, working as a part-time lecturer helped her realize her passion for teaching..
After beginning her career as a full-time lecturer at UCI, Mijalski worked her way up to become a senior lecturer and French program director.
Elizabeth M. Guthrie, the French program director at the time, helped Mijalski immensely during her undergraduate and postgraduate studies. After she began her professional career at UCI in 2004, Mijalski and Guthrie continued working together, with Mijalski succeeding heras the French program director after Guthrie retired.
“She’s my inspiration because she is really passionate and she taught me a lot. When she retired, she completely talked about changing things. She was 68 years old and decided to work with immigrants in detention centers as a volunteer, putting in a lot of hours,” Mijalski said.
After becoming the French program director at UCI, Mijalski utilized her passion for teaching, knowledge from her Spanish minor and love of languages to create a unique class called French 1ABSP, commonly known as French for Spanish speakers.
“The idea is that because they [Spanish speakers] already know a Romance language, it helps them learn French because there are a lot of similarities. It’s also really nice often for those students to find each other and have the kind of same background in language, sometimes culture,” Mijalski said.
In addition to contributing to the intellectual community at UCI, Mijalski is involved with organizations such as American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, giving presentations at the largest convention for teachers of foreign languages from the U.S. and Canada.
This year, Mijalski is prepared to give a presentation on how to introduce French colonial history to students in French courses and how that history can be related to today’s events.
Mijalski left a piece of advice for students interested in pursuing their studies beyond UCI.
“Make sure you have a good work-life balance,” Mijalski said. “I think it’s really important because the PhD. takes many years, and make sure to take care of your mental health because there’s a lot of graduate students with mental health issues due to the programs they’re in.”
Konstantin Diatlov is a Features Intern for the fall 2025 quarter. He can be reached at kdiatlov@uci.edu.
Edited by Avery Rosas and Joshua Gonzales
