Professor Annik Miller’s passion follows her from Switzerland, France and Germany

Connecting to people can happen in many different ways — through similar interests or hobbies, having the same favorite book and movie or participating in the same activities. However, these connections can only begin through communication, which depends on one thing: language.

Which is something Annik Miller, an assistant professor of German and French at Liberty University, understands better      than most. 

“We are the communicators,” Miller said. “Language multiplies your ability to communicate with others.” 

Born in Basel, Switzerland, Miller grew up in the Alsace region of France, a region bordering Switzerland and Germany. Her mother is French while her father is Swiss. Living in the Alsace religion, she was exposed to a variety of cultures, television shows and history.

She promptly learned both French and German. Seeing how language and culture played a fundamental role in her life, she  began to take English classes in sixth grade and later decided to be an English teacher. 

Miller arrived in America for the first time during college. She completed a semester abroad at Texas Tech University.

“My parents lived through World War II,” Miller said. “They lived in a region within France that was occupied by Germany and were forced into German citizenship. That started a lot of issues and resentments when, after the war, they moved back to France.” 

When the war ended, it was difficult for people to trust each other. Suddenly people who spoke a German dialect, had a German name or lived in a German-sounding village, were blamed for the war, even if they were forced into citizenship. Miller remembered the way Germans were spoken of with anger and resentment. Now, her father is 89 and has close friends in Germany, France and Switzerland. 

“To see that the same generations that lived through that can put that behind them and see people as people (is) so encouraging to me,” Miller said, “I wish more people could apply that nowadays. Life’s short, (and) we should just love each other.”

Miller met her husband, Ron Miller, while attending her summer abroad at Texas Tech. They got married after college. Her husband was in the Air Force, and the pair were stationed in many different places abroad, as well as in the United States. 

Eventually, Ron Miller was offered a job as the online associate dean for the School of Government. That’s when Miller began teaching French and German at Liberty University. 

Miller has worked at Liberty for 11 years. To this day, her passion for language and education continues to grow. 

Miller would never have imagined the opportunities that she has been given or the way that God would use her to serve Him throughout her life. From taking students to France, to teaching the languages she grew up with, God prepared her to teach at Liberty at every step of her journey. 

Falls  is a feature reporter.