Ming Fontaine

Taking the left staircase of Phillips Hall to the third floor, you will find a door decorated with red paper cutouts of Chinese characters which symbolize Chinese New Year. This door belongs to retired, part-time Chinese Instructor, Ming Fontaine, who has dedicated the past 30 years of her life to teaching at Exeter. 

Fontaine grew up in Taiwan and originally graduated from Ling Tung College with a business major. She worked as an accountant for a company in Taiwan before realizing that she did not enjoy her job. At the time her father, who was a professor, encouraged her to teach Chinese at a language institute where many of the students were foreign missionaries. “It was very interesting teaching foreigners from all over the world,” said Fontaine. “Not only was I teaching, [but] I was learning a lot from them.”

“We fondly remember many meals and conversations [...] when Ms. Fontaine ordered off the menu in Chinese and we all enjoyed authentic, specially prepared dishes that only she could describe to the chef, delights not on the daily menu,” [Mark Trafton] said.

After a few years of teaching at the institute, Fontaine moved to the U.S. to become a teaching assistant at Oberlin College. From there, she worked towards a Master’s degree in education which she began in Indiana and finished at Lesley College. “I was a graduate student at Indiana and a TA while taking classes. I liked that I taught at the same time I studied,” Fontaine said.

Originally, Fontaine’s husband was the one looking for a position at the Academy. He could not find an opening in the Science Department, instead finding out that the Chinese teacher was pregnant at the time and about to take a maternity leave. He suggested the position for his wife. “The head chairman at the time, Charlie Deardorff, interviewed me and I was hired,” Fontaine said. Fontaine continues to teach for her 30th year, despite retirement.

During her time at Exeter, Fontaine has created the study abroad program in Taiwan. In the summer of 1996, she took eight students to Taiwan. It turned out to be successful, and the program officially started up in 1999, transforming from a summer program to a winter term abroad. The locations switched as well, between China and Taiwan. “We changed locations to China, but then the air pollution got bad, so we went back to Taiwan. Even when we go to Taiwan, we still visit China,” Fontaine said.

Russian Instructor Inna Sysevich has been close with Fontaine for twenty two years and applauded her work for the abroad program. “It’s not easy: the road, the flight and a couple of weeks of coordinating kids. But she did it because she loves her culture, she loves her language and she wants them to have that experience,” Sysevich said.

In her classes, Fontaine strives to keep her students interested and motivated. In fact, Fontaine religiously follows her own philosophy of asking herself three questions everyday to see if she succeeded in having the attention and interest of her students. “A major philosophy that I apply to myself daily, that I learned from my high school teacher, and now being a high school teacher, consists of three steps: Did I complete the plan that I have given my students and teach them something good? Did every student learn the material I covered in class? Did I answer my students’ questions thoroughly?” Fontaine said.

Senior Troy Marrero commented on the ways Fontaine keeps her students engaged. “She just tells these crazy stories [...] sometimes, which is really interesting,” he said, then recounted a recent story Fontaine shared about how her friend spit out a piece of tofu that looked like a tooth.

Outside of the classroom, Fontaine enjoys being with her friends and students. Spanish Instructor Mark Trafton, who has known Fontaine since their employment in the late 80s, recounts the memories he and his family have had with her. “We fondly remember many meals and conversations [...] when Ms. Fontaine ordered off the menu in Chinese and we all enjoyed authentic, specially prepared dishes that only she could describe to the chef, delights not on the daily menu,” he said.

Sysevich talked about one of her many connections with Fontaine. “We used to go swimming a lot. She loves to swim. All of her kids are swimmers, or used to be. That’s another connection we have, because my father was a swimming coach before he retired, and her sons were on his team for many years.”

A big fan of the sport, Fontaine explained her devotion to swimming. “Even when I am tired, I go swimming because swimming can really relieve your tension and pressure.”

Through her 30 years here, the biggest impact Fontaine has left is her care for the community which surrounds her. “She’ll go far for her students. She knows them well,” Sysevich said. “She cares about the whole person […] She cares about your life and your well being.”

Sysevich said that Fontaine’s care for her students was one of the reasons she wanted to come to Exeter. “I saw the relationship between kids and teachers through my experience of spending the day with her.”

Upper Audrey Vanderslice, who has taken multiple courses with Fontaine, also spoke about Fontaine’s kindness. “In every class that I’ve been in, she’s always asked us how we’re doing, and she’ll try to make our days better with her class, which I think is really admirable,” Vanderslice said.

Trafton shared her sentiments, stating that, “Though small in stature, Ms. Fontaine’s strength of conviction and loyalty to her friends are towering.”