2011 INA Scholarship Recipient Essay from Nicole B.

Today, we are sharing with you the essay from Nicole Barnes who is the 2011 Regarding Nannies Essay Scholarship for the International Nanny Association Conference.   As we said last week, it was a hard choice to choose just one essay from the entries.

Nicole lives in the Boston area. She is nannying as well as working towards becoming a certified Doula through DONA International.  She has been a nanny for the past 15 years.  Make sure to look for her at the conference in May.  Again congratulations Nicole.

As a young girl I was lucky enough to realize that I was truly the most content when I was surrounded by the curiosity and wonder of young life.  As I grew, I learned that the happiest and most successful people were the ones that were able to incorporate their passions into their careers.  Keeping this concept in mind, I obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Child Development & Family Relations and launched my career as a professional nanny.

After working as a nanny for many wonderful families over the span of twelve years, I noticed that I found working with new families to be the most rewarding.  I decided I would like to specialize in newborn care and started researching the best route to accomplish this career goal.  My search lead me to the postpartum doula certification program through DONA International.  I am currently in the process of fulfilling the needed requirements in order to obtain my certification and I couldn’t be happier.  Through this process I have also had the opportunity to become a certified lactation counselor.  I have found that helping woman through this potentially difficult, yet extremely rewarding adventure to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life.  The challenges faced through each family’s completely unique experiences keeps me learning and growing… and I love it.

I believe that attending the 2011 International Nanny Association Annual Conference would allow me the rare opportunity of spending a long weekend surrounded by experts and enthusiasts of my field.  I would very much enjoy the opportunity to explore relationships with other personal child care providers, sharing insight and gaining new perspectives.  I feel that using this opportunity to network would prove to be extreme beneficial to my career because I believe that every person in our field holds invaluable information, understanding and wisdom.  Just as every child is unique, so is every experience in our filed, each offering an opportunity to grow and learn.  I believe it is also important to support fellow child care providers through understanding and acceptance and this conference will allow for these sorts of relationships to form.

As for the the curriculum, I am very interested in the newborn specialist workshops, including “Sweet Dreams, The Baby Sleeps Tonight” and “Greenproofing Your Client’s Nursery.”  I feel that having these specific sets of skills and knowledge is very beneficial to both the nanny and her clients, allowing for the parents the emotional security of knowing their child is safe and getting the best care possible.

In conclusion, I would very much like to attend the conference and I feel that there is immeasurable amount of experience and insight to be gained through such an unique opportunity.