Jessica O'Leary - St. Pauls Community College
Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Jessica. I'm a Business and Economics teacher in St. Paul's Community College in Waterford. I'm from Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford. I am just finishing my first year in St. Paul's having recently graduated from the University of Limerick.
Is the job as Business and Economics Teacher what you expected?
Yes the job is everything I expected. I was lucky to have completed my school placement in St. Paul's during my PME so I knew a lot about the school before I started.
What is a typical work day like for you?
My day usually starts around 8.15am when I get into school and have a cuppa and catch up with my colleagues. Lessons start at 9am. I teach a range of Business subjects including Business Studies, Economics, LCVP and VPG so every lesson during my day is different. Our 6th year students are in the middle of planning their Debs Ball, I along with my colleagues have been working with a group of students to organise the event during break time and after school.
What is your favourite thing about your job?
It's hard to chose my favourite thing about my job, if I had to pick one it would be working with young people. There is always something going on and the students always have something new or interesting to add to every class. I love seeing the students do well in any aspect of school life whether that is finally understanding how to balance their final accounts or winning a competition with one of our many school teams. Their excitement and enthusiasm is always infectious!
What are you hoping to change about the role?
In the future, I would love to see more students get involved in Business activities in the school. I would love to see every student choosing to study Business at some stage during Secondary school or take part in running a mini-company within the school. I think students often mistake studying Business as just learning how to do accounts but it's far more than that we use elements of Business Studies in every part of our lives!
What do you like to do outside of work?
Living so close to the new Deise Greenway, I enjoy taking Pepper my black Labrador off for a walk most evenings. As a huge sports fan, I spend a lot of my weekends supporting my local GAA club Ballyduff Lower and of course Waterford!! I also enjoy travelling, I'm currently trying to tick off some European cities!