My personal brand is as a bleeding heart, an empathetic listener and a person who will work for those she cares about. I’ve always had a particular talent in making others feel comfortable enough to share their stories with me. People whom I know deeply but even strangers that I’ve just met, have always seemed to feel comfortable to share information with me that they wouldn’t normally share with others. I am safe and approachable, so people seem to know that I can be trusted and that I care enough to help. Though it comes naturally, I’ve worked on honing this talent and funnelling it into a passion for listening to and helping others. In my family and friend groups, I’m known for the energy and passion that I put into listening to others and helping them with their struggles in any way that I can. I hurt when others are hurting but this ‘hurt’ doesn’t always mean physical pain; if someone is struggling to carry something, to afford something, to decide something or even just to fill time – I want to help them. I focus my energies on easing burdens and lightening people’s loads where-ever I can.
It shouldn’t be surprising then that I became an educator. As a professor, it is my job to identify my student’s needs, help them develops skills and provide resources to meet those needs. If I want to do that job well, then I need to connect with my students and create a comfortable environment where they can wrestle with ideas and feel brave enough to try new things. I am very good at creating a comfortable environment for my students and, semester after semester, I receive comments and reviews from students about how engaging my lessons are, how helpful I am and how obviously passionate I am towards my role.
As my strengths are most on display in my classroom where colleagues and authorities rarely venture, I have had to find other ways to stand out amongst my peers. I’ve made a concerted effort to share lesson and assignment ideas with colleagues and to join discussions where I can share my ideas and successes; I also strive to explore new avenues, teach new courses, and try new methodologies. I am known by co-workers for being friendly, approachable, and helpful but also intensely passionate about what I do. I am also open to try and learn new things and eager to discuss the which is what lead me to this course. Digital communication is such an important part of the communications field, so I want to learn more about connecting with people digitally so that I can bring this information back to my classrooms and department. I love connecting with and helping people. It’s what I love to do with friends and family and what I’m privileged to do for my career. I’m good at working with people and I love it. They say that if you do what you love then you’ll never work another day in your life; I guess that means that I haven’t worked in a very long time!
Algonquin College Social Media Certificate Program 