New World Language teacher Pauliny Smith begins the school year with a positive attitude as she strives for a welcoming learning environment and building connections with students. 

Smith is a proud Brazilian-American woman who attended Assumption University, majoring in education and Spanish. Her fluency in English, Spanish and Portuguese allows her to connect with a diverse range of students. 

Smith is a first generation college graduate, who has developed a passion for language from a young age. 

“I have known I wanted to be a language teacher for a long time,” Smith said. “Growing up in my town [of Millis, MA], a small town that wasn’t very diverse, I always felt like I was hiding a part of myself and only speaking Portuguese at home.”

Smith’s background has shown her the importance of connection through language.

“Getting involved with another language opens up the doors to the world,” Smith said. “Language is important because there are so many people in America who originated from other countries, and so many people leaving America for countries [with other national languages].” 

Smith’s career at Algonquin began when she was assigned to complete her practicum with former world language teacher, Karla Steele. After completion, a teaching position opened up, giving Smith the opportunity to get her first teaching job. 

Smith is grateful for the community Algonquin has welcomed her into.

“I love the community here and I think everyone is here for the same purpose, they are here for the students,” Smith said. “Part of my goal as a teacher is for everyone to do well in class, but also… to make sure that after high school [a student] can function as a citizen and can contribute to their community.”

One of Smith’s goals is to create a welcoming environment for students.

“I want to create a family and community in my class. I want everyone to feel welcome here, feel comfortable here,” Smith said. “My goal is to find that balance where we get a lot of work done but we can also have fun and people enjoy coming to my class.”

Smith admires the opportunities Algonquin provides for students.

“I hope [students] at Algonquin take advantage of the education they have, not a lot of people have the opportunities that students have, especially at a school like this, where students are provided with so many activities, classes, and ways to explore what they want to do in the future.”

Smith looks forward to her upcoming years at Algonquin as she currently works for her master’s degree and hopes to obtain her PhD in her future.