Meet Laura:
Laura Godlaski is an instructor of French, Latin, and Art History through her small business LLC, Learn with Laura. She has an M.A. in French & Francophone Studies (University of Notre Dame), with concentrations (through the French Program) in Art History and in Classics (Latin) earned by completing 12 hours of graduate coursework in these areas. She has studied abroad twice at the Université Aix-Marseille in the beautiful city of Aix-en-Provence, France – the first time for an intensive language program (Summer 2012), then returning for a full academic year (2016-17). She has also completed post-bacc coursework in French at Centre College in Danville, KY.
In addition, Laura holds a B.A. in Linguistics & English and a B.A. in Classical Languages & Literature from the University of Kentucky, during which time she also spent a semester abroad studying literature at the University of Central Lancashire, England.
Teaching Experience:
Teaching Assistant of French, University of Notre Dame
Instructor & Tutor of French, Latin, and ESL, Lexington Center for Language Immersion and Cultural Studies, LLC
Instructor of Linguistics, University of Kentucky
Professional Tutor of Latin, Syracuse University
Awards, Honors, & Service:
Laura was the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Scholar award (2016), which for three weeks allowed her to study Pompeii (one of her favorite places in the world!) and Petronius’s Satyricon, along with a cohort of other scholars and professors.
While a student at the University of Kentucky, she twice was awarded the Maloney Merit Scholarship for Literature, and was a three-time recipient of the Arts and Sciences Merit Scholarship.
For two years Laura served as a volunteer docent at the University of Kentucky Art Museum, during which time she received training in art and art education (in addition to prior undergraduate coursework in these areas).
Laura has also earned Kentucky Teacher Licensure through the State of Kentucky (2009).
Teaching philosophy: Laura is energetic, open-minded, and patient, and has first-hand experience with the challenges and rewards of learning another language. She believes that learning about other languages and cultures, including ancient ones, is not only great fun but also helps us better understand our basic humanity, feel more interconnected, and become better citizens. Laura has spent about 16 months of her life in Europe across multiple trips and stays, including three separate study abroad experiences, all of which has greatly expanded her world view. She also loves to travel in general, and at last count has visited 17 countries (some of them multiple times!) on three continents, and is eager to experience more. She believes that spending time in another country and learning about culture, if it is possible, is an essential part of learning a language.
Her founding of Learn with Laura, LLC is the result of her long-standing love of the French and Latin languages and her wish to have a creative outlet for sharing these languages and cultures. Remote instructional delivery (currently via Zoom), which Laura transitioned to entirely in 2023, has allowed her to meet demand for this modality and flexibility in learning (one can learn from *anywhere*!).
Inspired by visits to vineyards in many countries over the years, Laura has a growing interest in wine, and particularly loves the relationship between wine and region. She has taken a wine workshop in Bordeaux, France (2017), has participated in a four-part, live webinar series on a variety of topics related to wine and viticulture, Vigne et Vin (2019) through the Université de Tours, France, and earned her first wine tasting certification through the esteemed and widely-recognized Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) in 2021. In 2023 she completed coursework for the next level at the WSET and will sit for her exam in 2024, and has added wine education to her repertoire of teaching. Laura lives in the Ayelsford/Woodland Park area with her husband, an associate professor at Centre College.