Rommy Schreiber: Finding a Home in Child Care

Rommy Schreiber has found her home as a Child Care Educator at the YMCA’s North End Early Childhood Hub. Since joining the YMCA Child Care team in September of 2021, she has seen the impact with the children she cares for and this has given her a great feeling of pride.

“I love it because I have the opportunity to watch children grow and develop so many different skills. Working for the YMCA has been on my plans since I was studying to become an [Early Childhood Educator] (ECE)… I feel like I have joined the best place.”

For Rommy, the opportunity to work in Childcare at the YMCA has been life-changing. She loves the structure that is offered through the YMCA’s Playing to Learn curriculum, and she enjoys working with people who are friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable.

Rommy has been working in the education field for over 15 years, starting out in her home country of Brazil working with school-aged children with her Post Graduate Studies in Teaching English as a Second Language. She loved what she was doing and had a desire to deepen her knowledge of early child development, and decided to move to Canada and pursue an Early Childhood Education program.

As a newcomer to Canada within the last five years, Rommy appreciates being in a workplace where diversity and inclusiveness are highly valued. Working for the Y has provided her the unique ability to relate to a number of the families and children at the North Hub, as she understands what it is like to be immersed in a different culture than her own.

When asked if she can recall stories of any children and or families that stand out, Rommy highlighted a young two-year-old, whose family are newcomers from Ukraine and joined the Child Care program in the fall of 2021.  Rommy noted that for her age, the young girl’s language skills were advanced but with one challenge – she could only communicate in Russian.

The language barrier made communication a little bit more challenging at the beginning, but Rommy didn’t let the challenge of a language barrier stop her from building a connection with the little girl and her family. She was able to work with the parents to learn a few key Russian words for initial communication and gave them some developmental words in English for the young girl to practice at home.

“It has been very rewarding to watch all of her improvement,” Rommy reflects as she now sees the young girl communicating and understanding more and more in English each day.

Rommy is grateful to have the opportunity to work as a Child Care Educator with the YMCA, as she has been able to put her previous studies and experience into practice. As she looks to what the future has in store, Rommy sees herself pursuing a position that involves leadership and even staff mentoring.

Work at the YMCA of Greater Saint John!

Are you or someone you know passionate about Early Childhood Education and are looking for a meaningful job, a caring work environment, and an opportunity to reach your fullest potential? If so, consider a career with the Y!