Early childhood educator Jennifer Coelho has a "genuine love" for the children in her care.
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And if you ask her boss Louisa Beaver, the soon to be 25-yearl-old is an exceptional educator who demonstrates her passion daily at Kindy Korner Children's Services in Unanderra.
Ms Beaver is so impressed with the "exceptional young educator" that she has twice nominated Miss Coelho for 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards NSW/ACT in the NSW Department of Education Early Childhood Educator Award category.
Category winners won't be announced until April 30 but Miss Coelho is already seen as a winner in the eyes of staff, parents and children alike.
"I just love my job,"' Miss Coelho told the Mercury.
"I knew from an early age that this was the career for me. I take great pride in the work I do.
"On a daily basis I support children with their growth and development and design a program that specifically caters to their individual interest and needs.
"I work with the 3-5-year-olds. This involves lots of preparing them with their emotional and social skills before going to school and Transition to School programs.
"I also implement a range of different experiences and activities throughout the day that assist them basically with their growth and their development."
In her award nomination, Ms Beaver wrote that Miss Coelho "is an inspiration to her colleagues, a beacon of professionalism and integrity; an individual who shines the torch for high quality programs, respectful and honest relationships with families and a mentor to others".
Miss Coelho though got most pleasure from being with the children and seeing how much they grow and develop every day.
"Each day they surprise us with something new. It is just lovely to see that transition, and it is lovely to work alongside the parents to see the kids grow and watch them as they go through all their different milestones and phases in their life," she said.
"Since being here I've seen a lot of kids come through from the baby room all the way through to school. It has been nice to actually watch them transition from every room as they get that little bit older, as they learn all those new little things. It is really sweet and lovely."
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Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
