Name: Celine Duffau
BYUH Employee since... 2022.
My job at BYU–Hawaii is... an assistant professor in psychology.
I grew up in France, the country of croissants and other deliciousness!
I chose to teach at BYU–Hawaii because... I love to tie science and the gospel. We live in a world where people have the feeling those are incompatible, and it saddens me, especially when it is Church members. I hope I help my students see science in the gospel and recognize eternal principles as they learn more about how we and the world around us function.
My favorite thing about teaching is... I love to see the “aha moment” in my students' eyes. Hearing "haaaaa" in class is my favorite sound, because it means someone has progressed.
What sparked my interest in my field is... When I was an undergrad, we had a neuroscience class. Our teacher was a Ph.D. student who obviously HAD to be here and had NO pleasure teaching babies like us. She was so unpleasant and condescending! One day, I asked the very naive question, “Where is memory in the brain?” to which she replied, impatiently, “We don’t know.” I was shocked; I thought, “What do you mean we don’t know? We are in 2014; we must know something about memory! Well, I guess I will have to figure it out myself!” What we know now, and knew back then too, and what should have been her answer, is that “memory is everywhere in the brain.” It is one of the most magical processes our brain is capable of, and it fascinates me.
The best advice I’ve ever received about teaching is... You will never please every student. Just do what you believe in and do your best!
My favorite spot on campus is... The BYUH fish tank in the science building. It has been two years since I have been taking care of it, and people who have been here all along have probably seen the landscape change a lot, for the best and for the worst! Even when we struggled to keep things alive, the tank is a playground to me, and I am grateful for the opportunity to take care of this small world. I wouldn't compare myself to God, but having to take care of creatures, plants, monitoring the chemicals, and trying to maintain all my little world alive is very challenging. I cannot imagine how tough it has been to create the world!
You’ll never find me without my... My phone. I am such a millennial.
My favorite holiday is... Christmas, especially back in France! I miss the good meals, the lights in the downtown street, the effervescence in the stores, the few weeks before, the red carpets on the sidewalks... France and, even more so, Germany are really the best places for Christmas. I hope everyone can get the chance to experience it there!
The title of my autobiography would be... “How to be successful when you are unlucky.” In my first year of Ph.D., I told my mentor I was unlucky, and he called me a drama queen. By the end of the first year, he said, “WOW... You are unlucky!”
One item on my bucket list is... To learn the piano; I have tried this year but got a bit overwhelmed by everything else... I will try again next year as my yearly resolution!
During the summer months... I travel a lot. Last summer, I visited nine different states in the USA. The summer before, I went to Kiribati and Bali for research purposes, and next summer, I hope I will be able to go back to Europe to see my family and visit other European countries.
One thing that can instantly make my day better is... Something sweet, people who know me well know my love language - this and a good meme.
If I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, it would be... Pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant)! When I come back to France, my family knows that they need to go to the bakery before I buy some, and they throw it to me when I arrive, like you throw a steak to a lion!
My hobbies, and how I got into them... Diving; my dad lived in the Bahamas when I was very young, which gave me my love for marine life, and fish tanks later. Crocheting; I like the idea of being able to produce quickly something that can please someone as a gift. Currently, I am working on a big dragon for a friend. Video games; this one shocks everyone, but I am quite a big nerd. I do not have time to play that much since undergrad because... life, but I still appreciate playing online games with my friends.
