Grand Lake High alumna Lindsay Smythe has been selected as this year’s Étoile Filante (Rising Star) from the Alumni Association of Université Sainte-Anne in Nova Scotia, Canada. This award is presented to those who have distinguished themselves through their exemplary involvement in community organizations or in various fields or professions.
Smythe was nominated for her contribution in French education in Louisiana, specifically her work in founding a free, public French immersion elementary charter school in St. Landry Parish that opened its doors in August 2021.
She has a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Louisiana State University. In 2011, she received her French immersion program certificate from Université Saint-Anne and then received her Nova Scotia teaching license in 2012. In 2017, she completed her Educational Leadership certification from the University of Holy Cross (New Orleans).
Smythe began her teaching career at Grand Lake High, where she taught and coached for seven years. After her time studying in Nova Scotia, she added French to her teaching certificate and was hired to the faculty of Lafayette High in 2013, where she taught French and English. She has been a summer instructor at Université Sainte-Anne since 2015.
She was recently named to the 2022 class of Leadership St. Landry. She was designated a 20 Under 40 Young Leader of Acadiana in 2021 and is a 2020 graduate of the Leadership Institute of Acadiana. In 2016, she was the Lafayette Parish High School Teacher of the Year. She has been twice selected for professional programs in Belgium and in 2016, she started a bi-annual exchange program between Lafayette High and École Massillon in Paris. She has presented on both the state and national levels on teaching methods in second language acquisition.
Smythe is married to Adam Doucet. She is the daughter of Dr. Marck (Paula) Smythe and Sandra (Steve) Smith, all of Big Lake.