Here’s some of my work and travel experience that is relevant to my teaching journey.
City of Kamloops – Work Experience
I worked for the City of Kamloops as a lifeguard, first aid instructor, swim instructor, and crew leader from 2012 until 2019. I spent most of my time bouncing between the Canada Games Pool and the Westsyde Pool in Kamloops. This was the job that gave me my most amount of teaching experience to get into the Bachelor of Education program. For years, I taught children as young as three to 70-year-old seniors how to swim. It was a fantastic way to learn how to manage a group of students in a dynamic environment that also had hazards, like deep water. It also introduced me to lesson planning and implementation. I’m very grateful for my time with the city as I wouldn’t be nearly as competent an educator if it weren’t for my time in the pool.
McDonald’s – Work Experience
My first true experience teaching another person was when I worked at McDonald’s as a teenager. It was my first job. I was hired at 15 years old to take orders and clean the restaurant. However, after a few months working there, I had learned all of the operations of the fast food establishment, including working in the kitchen and unloading the delivery truck. After working there for around two years, I was promoted to Crew Trainer. With the new title, I was responsible for training new employees in different positions at McDonald’s. I quickly realized I enjoyed teaching as it was very intrinsically motivating. The position helped show me that if I put my mind to it, I could become a quality educator.
Here’s me working a shift at McDonald’s in Valleyview, a neighborhood in Kamloops.
Argentina – Travel
I lived in the city of Buenos Aires in Argentina for a few months in 2024. I moved there alone to work, travel around the area, meet new people, and enjoy the city life in a Spanish-speaking culture. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and the memories and relationships I made there are extremely valuable to me. Further, it was also the destination where I decided to apply for the Bachelor of Education program. After around two months, I knew I was ready for a new professional journey that would take me away from journalism. Becoming a teacher was always on the back burner for me, and after a lot of self-reflection while sitting on the rooftop of my apartment complex in Buenos Aires, I realized it was time for me to go all in on becoming a teacher.