Mount Carmel sophomore Artem Massey has an interesting history, and because of that history, an unusual ability to speak three languages fluently.

Born in a suburb near Paris, France, he is a fluent speaker in French.  However, Massey’s mom works around the world, and Artem lived in Russia from 2006 until 2014.  While in Russia, Massey needed to adapt. A quick way to become more comfortable with any foreign country would be to learn that language. He expanded on his French and English speaking by learning Russian as well.

He admitted it can be challenging moving from place to place. When coming back to the United States to attend MC, he had to leave many friends and make new ones.

However, Massey still speaks fluent Russian at home, and actually prefers it over English. He also noted how he speaks French with some of his friends on the phone.

There are benefits to speaking many languages, especially in looking to the future. “It is good to expand on other languages and refine them.” He is now learning a fourth language and already is far ahead of the curve. He plans to develop his language skills even more, knowing that will be an advantage whether his future career is in business, medicine or politics.

One indication of how marketable he may be is that he recently was contacted by the UN regarding a job in the future.

Learning a foreign language can be time consuming, Massey’s experience shows that applying yourself and expanding upon your current knowledge can only lead to opportunity.