Her approach is so caring that she can instill self-confidence into anyone. She is very friendly and open. This is the reason why Linda Henry has been able to meet and deal with a lot of Mauritian students who were going to study in the US. And after having worked for 38 years as the educational advisor of the American embassy in Mauritius, Linda Henry retired a few weeks ago.

However, as well as all the qualities needed to be an educational advisor, she also has the capacities of a great manager! She runs a textile factory that produces uniforms for the hotels and schools in Mauritius and even abroad in the Seychelles for example. Besides being very caring towards her staff, she also seeks perfection from them.

When Linda arrived in Mauritius in 1965, she did not find life really easy. In fact, she found it very different from what she was used to. But the most difficult things to cope with were the language and the food. But with time, she managed to overcome those difficulties by working on them.

?At that time, there was practically nothing here. There were only sugar factories and one hotel. But it was even harder for me to get used to the French language even though my husband told me Mauritius was an English colony. But I had accepted to come so I had to make the most of things. Using dictionaries and newspapers, I started teaching myself French.?

Linda?s first job in Mauritius was teaching English to students in a college. That was back in 1968. But despite finding the level of the students? fine, Linda wanted something more challenging.

Linda is American. She was born in Bangor, Maine in the 1940s. She did a bachelor?s degree in history and government at the University of Maine and after that a certificate in education. However, her most memorable time was certainly the year she graduated from University. Indeed, the same year she got married. That was back in 1963. She has three children: Nathalie, Caroline and Jean-Michel.

Today, Linda has several different ways of spending her time. She is now the grand-mother of eight grand-children and she just loves spending time with them. She admits she would like even more grand-children. Moreover, as the wife of a stable owner, she loves riding. She is also a great reader and a fan of bridge. In fact, she has just come back from the world bridge championship in Italy where her husband played for the national team.

Linda?s focus will now be more on her family and her factory. But as she is so passionate about education, she just intends to keep in touch with what is going on in education all around the world.