Martine Gantrel has spent the past 44 years of her life at Smith College — teaching students, being a part of the community and exploring Northampton.
Gantrel has taught at Smith for the majority of her life, but she is ready to begin the next stage — retirement.
Gantrel attended Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, France, which marked the beginning of her path to Smith. She participated in an exchange program where young graduates were sent to Smith (and a Smith student to Ecole Normale Superieure). Through this program, she taught for two years as a French exchange lecturer.
“I liked it so much that I stayed,” Gantrel explained. “There was an opening in the French department, I applied, I got it and 44 years later, here I am.”
She teaches French language courses, specializing in 19th and 20th century French literature and cinema. Gantrel said she loves cinema, so she was happy to be offered the opportunity to teach a course on the topic year after year.
The courses she teaches are one of the many reasons she stayed so long, another being her love for Northampton.
“I love Smith — I love the campus, I love the small classes,” she said. “I love the snow in the winter because I’m from Paris. We never have snow in the winter, and that always brought me to stay.”
As much as she adores teaching, Gantrel has picked up some hobbies while living in Northampton. She does yoga, enjoys cooking, plays games with friends and family, and tends to a small garden as well.
“I love walking in downtown Northampton — I think it is so cute,” she said. “I feel safe.”
Although she has enjoyed her time at Smith, she looks forward to retirement where she can have more time to work on her research and hobbies. Gantrel is currently working on a series of articles on French writer Marcel Proust with the hope of putting together a book.
“I still have a few projects, research projects. I think I need another one or two years of solid work,” she explained. “Once I’ve done everything I started or didn’t quite finish, then I’ll be more relaxed with my time — maybe I’ll travel more.”
At the beginning of her teaching career, she traveled back to France at least twice a year, but it became only once a year after she married and had children. Gantrel said will probably travel more frequently back to the place where she grew up.
Gantrel’s retirement will allow her to spend more time with her husband, children and the friends she has made during her time in Northampton.
Among the things she will miss from her time working at Smith, Gantrel listed the view out of her corner Hatfield office window and her colleagues, but more importantly, her students.
“I will miss seeing and talking with students,” Gantrel said. “I know I will miss that more than anything else.”
