The Teacher/Counselor
As you already know, Fr. De Peaux has been on the St. Norbert College campus for a very long time. He is a member of the Norbertine Order of Catholic clergy and ever since graduating in 1948, he has been and educator to all. He started his actual teachings at St. Norbert High School and remained there for 10 years. He taught at two other high schools before going to the University of Wisconsin Madison to pursue doctoral degrees in French and Spanish. After graduating from UWM, De Peaux went off and studied at Sorbonne University in Paris, France were he lived on and off for eight years.
When Fr. De Peaux came back from France, he knew he wanted to become a teacher. His favorite classes he taught were the foreign languages ones but he also taught other general study classes. One thing that made Fr. De Peaux very unique was the fact that he lived in the dorms where his students were. This helped him understand the lives of his students a lot more fully rather than just being their teacher. I took some time to reflect on this thought and wondered if I would like a situation like that. Right away, I was thinking no, however, after continuing my talk with him, it didn’t seem all that bad. He liked to be more than just a teacher in the classroom. He wanted his students to think of him as a father figure. By being the only teacher to live in the dorms, everyone always knew where he was. With so many issues in the world going on around the students, they could ask him questions about homework, girls, or just about anything and Fr. De Peaux was more than happy to listen. De Peaux claims that living in the dorms was one of the most rewarding times in his life. Students would come in and vent to him all the time and then those same students would state; “Well, I better start my confession now” and Fr. De Peaux would gladly say; “You already did”. He knew that the only way to understand his students was to stay involved. However, there are always those couple students who think they can get away with anything:
Fr. De Peaux was also the advisor to a men’s fraternity for 37 years, which he claims is still the St. Norbert College record. He also joined his students at the café multiple times a week to continue his involvement with his students. His career at St. Norbert also included 26 years as the director of the language laboratory. In 1991, Fr. De Peaux retired as a French and Spanish professor here at St. Norbert College. Currently, Fr. De Peaux continues his work as a member of the Norbertine community of St. Norbert Abbey.
Interviewing Fr. De Peaux was one of the highlights of my studies here at St. Norbert College. I learned such a great amount of information by simply sitting down and having a conversation with him. In the beginning of the interview, he told me about his travels around the world and I told him about my time abroad in Italy. His kind words relaxed me and saved the interview from being rigid. The three hours flew by and at the end; we were laughing and smiling and discussing what we thought the future of St. Norbert College would be like. De Peaux has a lot of travel plans in his future. However, until then, he will continue to be one of the most influential members on campus and a friend to those in need.