Bronagh Ní Chrothair

Coláiste Feirste  

https://www.colaistefeirste.org

Subject or Primary School Year: SEN Classroom Assistant

Place of Birth: Belfast

Where you studied: Coláiste Feirste 

What was your first job? Wallis Sales advisor 

What did your first job teach you? It taught me that building a positive rapport with the customers is very important! A pleasant conversations can make a person's day. I gained communication skills and this helped me give great customer service. 

Family/Status: Engaged.

Best advice you would give to someone thinking of a teaching career:  I think the most important thing when supporting pupils is to be understanding, that every pupil is different and they all have different needs. Pupils should enjoy coming to school, it should be a safe and happy place for them. As a classroom assistant I not only care for my students' education but also their mental health and well-being. I would advise them to be themselves and if you treat a young person the way you would like to be treated you gain mutual respect and trust. 

Bronagh is a past pupil of Coláiste Feirste where she had a great experience in the school. She would like to give her current pupils the same happy memories and experience that she got from school. She loved Art & Design in school, and graduated from Ulster University with a degree in Fashion. She now teaches sewing and textiles in Coláiste Feirste along with being a classroom assistant. She says being a classroom assistant is a really fulfilling job and it helps her gain the experience and skills that she needs to become an Art teacher.

Bronagh's future goal is to complete her PGCE and become an Art teacher where she wants to use the skills she has gained through her current role working and helping students, to become an inspiring and helpful teacher.