Starting her career in French studies in 8th grade out of spite of her parents, associate French professor Dr. Kristin Okoli, has continued to share her love for French culture with students at UCA. 

“My parents told me it would be useless, so I did the opposite of what they said. Of course I was also sucked in by my attraction to French fashion, art and food,” Okoli said.

Although her parents may have thought it would be useless, Okoli proved that it could take her far. Okoli graduated summa cum laude from Tulane University in New Orleans with her Bachelor of Arts in French, art history and English. From there, she went on to get her Ph.D in French and African American studies at Yale University. 

“I have worked jobs in many different professional fields, including being a full-time paralegal one summer in college because I was considering becoming a lawyer,” Okoli said. “I ultimately chose an academic career because it gives me the freedom to share and produce knowledge on fascinating topics I love.”

Okoli has taught at elite institutions such as Yale, yet she eventually found herself drawn to UCA for multiple reasons. 

“UCA was my first choice of several universities. I really wanted to come home to a public institution in the South that better reflects my personal background, values and faith in the value of public education that’s grounded in the needs of the local and regional community while at the same time educating students for global engagement and diversity,” Okoli said. 

Okoli’s favorite courses to teach are literature and culture of The Creole Atlantic, fashion history and theory, Africana art and visual culture. She is also teaching a hands-on experiential learning course where students are applying their French skills learning archival management working with rare books, manuscripts and cultural artifacts in French at the archives at UCA. 

Her favorite part of teaching is “seeing my students learn to think more critically about the world around them, and really push themselves out of their comfort zones to master how to express their ideas, opinions and arguments in another language,” Okoli said.

As diversity and culture is something UCA prides itself on, Okoli notes why it’s important to teach and learn about other cultures.

“Learning other languages and developing cultural literacies is something that makes us better and more empathetic citizens of the world. It also allows us to embark on journeys towards better understanding and awareness of our own cultural perspectives,” Okoli said. “It makes life so much more fun. Speaking French [and other languages] is a lifelong passport opening amazing conversations, travel experiences, friendships and cultural exchange that we wouldn’t be able to access otherwise.”