To me, if you can do one thing in your life to help someone it would be to help them through education. Being a leader, a mentor and a motivator is always something I feel comfortable doing and it’s always been my goal in life to inspire and develop children through their early years or primary education.

I’ve been dancing with a local ballet school in my hometown for fifteen years, and at the age of thirteen I was offered a wonderful opportunity to assist my ballet teacher in teaching her class.  The age of the children in these classes ranged from 2 -10.  This was a challenging yet rewarding experience to engage with children in an informal teaching environment.  The children seemed to engage with me and my dance teacher encouraged me to continue this and take it further.

After completing high school, I attended college in my hometown in which i completed a Higher National Certificate in Early Education and Childcare.  Throughout this course, I attended a placement two days a week in a nursery and a primary one class.  Before I started this course I had little experience of working within a primary classroom.  I was a little nervous when i started, however i knew that completing this placement would help me to identify if teaching was for me.  The primary one class had a totally different atmosphere from the nursery.  Being in a nursery environment where most of the day was revolved around free-flow play was enjoyable yet very busy.  However, I preferred the structure of the class day and appreciated the time and effort that the teacher had put into planning.  I enjoyed assisting the teacher throughout the day and helping the children complete their tasks.  The class teacher was absolutely brilliant at her job and inspired me further to become an excellent teacher.

I feel very passionately about learning to become a successful and professional primary educator.   I am very grateful for the opportunity that the University of Dundee has given me and I wish to cherish every moment and embrace the experiences that I will be taking part in over the next four years.