Louise Hanvey

First Job: Hendon School, North London.

What it taught me: My first actual job was as a waitress in a local café. I started working when I was 13 and loved working in the team. I really valued the independence that I gained from my part-time job. I also gained many different employability skills such as customer service, teamwork, working under pressure, working to deadlines and managing priorities. My first job as a teacher was in Hendon School, North London. Taking this post was very rewarding. It was a very multi-cultural school that prioritised relationships. I lived and breathed for my job putting everything I could into developing my skills to be a more effective educator. I really enjoyed the experience but always knew that I wanted to return home to Northern Ireland.

Family/status: Married, mother of two children aged 10 and 8; one dog called Spike and one rabbit called Terrance.

Best advice anyone ever gave you: A colleague once told me that "If it is for you it will not pass you. If it passes you it was not for you.” I have used this to build my resilience and develop a positive mindset towards things that do not always work out as I had hoped.

Best advice you could give someone thinking of a teaching career: No matter what subject you end up teaching; you have to love being in the company of young people.

As the award nomination is for Pandemic Heroes I think that I should start in March 2019. This is the month that I was successful at interview for the role of Principal at Ashfield Girls' High School. When I walked around the school at interview I felt a real connection to the school and its ethos. Taking up the role in August 2019, I had only seven months to get to know the staff and pupils before we moved into the first lockdown. How do you lead a school through a pandemic? I had no idea. I decided early on that I would draw upon previous experiences that I had leading team and apply the same principles: trust, transparency and due regard to the complex process of change management. These principles have guided me through the restart in August 2020 and the current lockdown. I have prioritised health, safety, well-being and continuity of learning over the past year. The pandemic is a shared trauma and one positive is that it has brought me closer to our staff, as I have asked much from them and they have all risen to the challenge.