Through a childcare organization that was taken over, Ania Gerritzen started working as a pedagogical employee at Elorah. Almost immediately after she joined Elorah, she made the switch to branch manager. She is happy to tell you how she experiences this herself.
Ania has more than 20 years of experience and graduated in Psychopedagogy
With more than 20 years of experience, Ania is a true pedagogical professional. She herself was in a daycare in Poland, where she had a teacher as a toddler who remained her teacher for 8 years. “As a child I already knew that I wanted to work with children when I grew up. I had such a sweet and nice teacher myself. She really inspired me to follow this path. I wanted to mean the same to children as she did to me,” says Ania about her choice to work with children. After graduating in Psychopedagogy and obtaining her master's degree, Ania moved to the Netherlands.
Watching children grow and develop. That bloom in children, that's just the most beautiful thing!
“Every day I see the children grow and develop. They learn new things every day. For example, I recently had a girl in the group who was born prematurely. As a result, she had already been through a lot and it took her a little longer to develop than the other children in the group. That is absolutely okay, because every child develops at his or her own pace. She got up very carefully, suddenly said 5 words and then looked at me proudly. Wow, that just makes me really happy. That bloom, that's just the most beautiful thing! And then that joy I saw in her parents when I told this. Yes, that's what you do it for." In her mind, Ania goes back to that moment and smiles.
Ania is Christian and can work at Elorah from her Christian identity
Besides the fact that working with children makes her very happy, Ania is also happy that she can work at Elorah from her Christian identity. But what exactly does that look like? “From crafts to songs, we link as many activities as possible to Biblical themes,” Ania explains. “For example, we reflect on Christian holidays, such as Easter and Christmas. We read from the Bible, sing Psalms and pray together.”
At Elorah, Ania is seen for who she is and what she does
Ania receives a lot of appreciation from the children and their parents. But appreciation from your employer is of course also very nice! “It almost brings tears to my eyes, but at Elorah I am really seen for who I am and what I do. Not as a Polish person, but as Ania, the pedagogical professional.” Ania is also very happy with her regional manager. “I get a lot of appreciation from my regional manager. Working as a branch manager was very new to me. In addition, Dutch is my 2e language. As a result, I sometimes made a mistake, but my regional manager always showed understanding and said: "It's okay, we'll solve it together." Making a mistake can happen, if you try your best. That's what counts at Elorah,” Ania ends the interview with a satisfied look.
Do you also want to work at Elorah?
Do you also want to work from your Christian Reformed identity with an employer who sees you for who you are and what you do? View our vacancies here. Who knows, your dream job might be among them!
