World languages teacher Dominique Aumiller sports a thick stack of books on her upper left arm, their pages tattooed in black ink.
According to World Languages Curriculum Coordinator Agnés Albèrola, the tattoo says a lot about Aumiller’s personality.
“She’s fun, but she’s definitely someone who loves learning and teaching,” said Albèrola.
Aumiller, who teaches French, Latin and Spanish, always sought out knowledge wherever she could. Influenced by her mother, she found herself drawn to college courses about German, Portuguese and Russian.
Despite her passion for language, Aumiller never confined herself to one single field. She is also a passionate musician.
Her love for music began in high school, where she played the tuba in the marching band, along with the saxophone and the trombone in a jazz band. She now plays the tuba for a circus band called Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band.
Aumiller chose to pursue graphic design in college. She later worked at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, participating in challenging hands-on work.
“We actually had to go into a pond and install a sculpture underwater that would make ripples as though you were throwing rocks into the water pools,” said Aumiller. “That was a cool thing we were paid to do, to go out in a canoe and put a sculpture underwater.”
In her classes, Aumiller incorporates her experience in music and art into crafts activities and projects. Once on Halloween, she took students down to the school basement where they shared horror stories written in French.
Sophomore Karalyn Resnick believes that Aumiller’s ability to incorporate music and art into classes allows her to reach students who learn in various ways.
“She’ll write things on the board and we’ll play these games with a flyswatter, where she’ll yell out a word in English and it will be written on the board in Latin and you have to slap it,” said Resnick. “We’ll act things out and take notes. If taking notes in class doesn’t work for you, she’ll do whatever she can to make it so your learning style is taken into account in her class.”
Aumiller credits her diverse background with making her a more creative and flexible teacher.
“I don’t feel too rigid on stuff that has to happen in a certain class, or if we get sidetracked on something that’s worthwhile,” said Aumiller. “I can go with that.”
Aumiller cites the freedom to teach her own way as among her favorite things about her job.
“I think if a teacher is excited about something, they do a better job teaching it,” said Aumiller. “You don’t have to be rushed to get to a certain place. You can make it a fun class.”
Emma Nash can be contacted at [email protected].
