¡Hola! My name is Jenifer James Farrell and I am currently teaching French and Spanish at Monarch High School. I am a Colorado native, from Lakewood. When I was in high school, I decided to study French (not Spanish!) and it immediately became my favorite class. After high school, I was lucky enough to spend a year living in Laval, France, as an exchange student for a year. I stayed with three different families while learning the French language and culture, and attending a French lycée. It was a life-changing experience for me, and I believe each person should have the experience of living in another culture at some time in their life.
Upon my return to the US, I started college at CU-Boulder. I was (accidentally!) placed in a Spanish class my freshman year, but ended up loving this new language as much as French. I spent one college semester at the Universidad de Gudalajara improving my Spanish and traveling throughout Mexico on weekends. At this point, I decided to pursue teaching as a career in order to share my love of cultures and learning new languages with others, and earned my teaching certificate from CU, along with my degree in French and Spanish. After teaching for a year in BVSD at Boulder and Fairview High Schools, I moved to Fort Collins and spent two years teaching at CSU while working towards my Master's Degree in Spanish Literature. Since then, in my teaching career I have now taught at two middle schools, seven high schools, one community college and one university - phew! (And currently -- that's a more than twenty-year span!) No matter the school where I am teaching, or the age of my students, my love for the journey of what it is like to learn a language and explore other cultures has remained the same. My sincerest hope is that my students will discover the same passion for learning about languages and cultures.
When not teaching, I love to spend time with my family. My husband is Mr. Farrell at Monarch High School, and my two children go to school in Louisville as well (here at MoHi and at Monarch K-8). I love to travel, hike, ride my mountain bike, sew, quilt, play with yarn (knit, crochet, turn sheep fleeces into yarn) and engage in anything that is DIY.
Thanks for visiting my site and I hope to get to know you soon! ~ Sra. Farrell