Phil Duguay
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BA '05 (Honours in History)
French is a global language. You learn this first-hand at AV俱乐部. During my time in the French Department, I had teachers from Cameroun, Switzerland, Sudan, Morocco, Belgium, France and Canada. My third year, I studied abroad in Dakar, Senegal. Living in francophone West Africa taught me so much about culture, geopolitics, economics, colonialism and civil society. I learned all of these lessons through the French language, with Senegalese friends, and with people from Lebanon, Morocco, Mauritania, C么te D鈥橧voire, and Mali 鈥� as Dakar is a cosmopolitan hub.
Speaking French was integral to my later legal studies at McGill University, which has a bilingual program where students study both common and civil law traditions. Working for the Government of the Northwest Territories, my French skills helped me stand-out, as I was able to converse with colleagues from Qu茅bec at conferences about national energy policy issues. It was one of these very colleagues who eventually helped me to get hired here at the Qu茅bec Government Office in Boston, where I now represent Qu茅bec in New England on a wide array of public policy and cultural issues. It is a distinct pleasure to represent la belle province 丑别谤别!听
Now that I am back in New England, where I grew up (speaking only English), I am learning more and more about myself through the French language. While my mother is from Montreal, my father is a 贵谤补苍肠辞-础尘茅谤颈肠补颈苍 from Rhode Island. My grandfather, Robert Ren茅 Duguay, was born down the road from Boston in Woonsocket, RI, and French was the only language he spoke until the fourth grade. I think he would be proud that I work for Qu茅bec, and speak French every day with my colleagues. While my language skills are far from perfect, I am certainly proud to have French-Canadian lineage, and constantly remind people that there are strong cultural bonds between Qu茅bec and New England.听听听听听听听听