My 94 year old Japanese grandmother lives at home with my family and I and throughout the years of caring for her I have learned a lot about what it takes to look after someone. Take for example the need for understanding, communication and especially patience which I believe are vital elements for the success of care.
With the care my mum, me and other occasional social carers, my grandmother has been able to continue to live in an environment she is comfortable in, unlike if she was in a nursing home or other foreign environment.
I think this is what makes social care so important as it allows individuals to maintain a level of continuity and independence whilst also feeling part of a community and not excluded. The assistance aids them in making life easier and hopefully more enjoyable as well.
I´m motivated to assist people to continue with their lives with some normality, just how my grandmother has been able to do.
Also, my dad works in disability support, and for a number of years was a social carer - the stories and relationships he formed during this time, although not always easy, have inspired and motivated me to work in this area too.
In terms of hobbies - I love to go on walks, listen to music and go to festivals and concerts, hang out with friends, cook, eat, travel, go to the beach, knit and crochet, and the list goes on!
For skills, my mum is from Japan so I can speak Japanese pretty fluently, however I can also speak some German and a bit of Spanish (English is of course my first language).
I am currently completing my degree of International Studies at UNSW- with this degree I´m hoping to one day go into humanitarian aid work, which I believe is in essence very similar to this position.
In terms of other skills - I also learned the violin for 6 years and then went and picked up the viola which I learned for 3 years. During these years I played in an orchestra, a symphony and a quartet. Although I don't play these instruments as frequently as a used to , I enjoy to pick them up every now and then.
I would say that I am quite a grounded, open, and patient person. Those online personality tests often say that I am 50-60/50-40 extrovert/introvert (but who knows how reliable they are!).
I will add that I completed my Gold Duke of Ed which taught me an array of things and involved me volunteering in different areas. Relevant to this position - I volunteered teaching students to read for several months and also I volunteered in Katherine (NT) for a week where I was a teachers assistant helping the kids out, especially the neurodivergent students in the class.
