Shaminder, assistante maternelle à Bologna

In my spare time, I enjoy travelling and one aspect of travelling I particularly enjoy is learning about different cultures. I also enjoy reading and socialising a lot, as I am able to gain different perspectives from various different individuals learning from first hand experiences. Having this life experience is vital to me in order to develop as a person. I feel that this is why I am able to acknowledge, understand and respect perspectives other than my own. It has always been a desire of mine to work abroad in the future, preferably in Europe, as I lived in Cyprus for 8-years and transformed into an Islander girl. I am a caring person, which is probably a reason why I have chosen a career path into Educational psychology -to help children and young people to overcome problems, whilst encouraging them to become successful learners. I can also speak fluent Turkish, as my mother is a Cypriot from Northern Cyprus. Previously, I wanted to learn Italian, which is what led me to join Au Pair where I found my previous Italian host families during summer-time! :) Au pairing will enable me with the opportunity to be surrounded and indulge myself in a trust-worthy family whilst studying a foreign language abroad.

I undertook an early years education course, which covered ages 0-7 years. During this course, I gained work experience at a pre-school, where I taught basic English & Math to pre-schoolers. I really enjoyed the aspect child development, which led me to begin studying psychology at degree level. I also worked with a company called SAFS, which is a charity funded service for children with mental health issues and disabilities. I have shown that I can empathise and use a range of communication methods and meeting the needs of the children. I have demonstrated patience and an ability to remain calm in difficult or stressful situations. Whilst on my placement from my Childcare course at a pre-school, I learnt the importance of using different approaches to meet the needs of the children. I developed a better understanding of equity, equality and diversity. Growing up in a mixed family with 4 siblings, I suppose caring for children, and being open-minded to new cultures just became a natural instinct.

I believe gaining this opportunity will enable me to gain a great experience, making life-long friends, and it will aid me to become successful in my future career path. It will enable me to use my new global mind-set for guidance to my future students and steer my future forward. Throwing myself into a completely new environment will help me to figure out what I am good at, as well as what I am not so good at; These are things that can then be built on during this opportunity abroad with trustworthy families. This opportunity will enable me to completely immerse myself in a new language, new culture and go beyond a purely academic experience -there is no better way to learn than to dive right in, right?