Norco Elementary substitute teacher regularly travels internationally as a missionary

Chloe Babineaux said her life’s work is to help children – both here and there.

Babineaux was born, raised and still resides in Montz. The 2015 Destrehan High School graduate now splits her time between helping local and international children through two very different channels – as a substitute teacher at Norco Elementary School and as a missionary to foreign fields.

Babineaux graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University a few years ago with a background in human development and family studies. She chooses to substitute as a career because it allows her flexibility to continue her mission work. She regularly volunteers at an orphanage in Mexico, even living there for a year, and in a village in Peru.

Her missions work first started in 2014.

“My church at the time was doing a short-term missions trip to Mexico and my parents actually went one year and then decided to take my sister and I,” she said. “I was 16 and that initial visit absolutely changed my life and changed how I viewed the world, so I definitely planned to go back. All through college I would go to the orphanage for spring and summer breaks.”

Babineaux was granted an opportunity to intern at the orphanage during college, and the following year she was asked to go back and lead the internship program. Other visits to Mexico and Peru have given her the experience of equipping and training pastors to go out and plant churches.

What she loves about her work at Norco Elementary, Babineaux said, is that it allows her to apply the knowledge and skill set she acquired in college regarding different developmental stages.

“I love being able to learn and grow at the same time, and I just love the kids,” she said. “I love working at the elementary level. I really enjoy the flexibility of it. I get a lot of exposure being in a lot of different class settings.”

Her next missions trip is slated for February, when she will visit Peru.

“My long-term goal is to continue to work for the school system in some capacity, and serve children both there and here,” she said.

 

About Monique Roth 919 Articles
Roth has both her undergraduate and graduate degree in journalism, which she has utilized in the past as an instructor at Southeastern Louisiana University and a reporter at various newspapers and online publications. She grew up in LaPlace, where she currently resides with her husband and three daughters.

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