Wir haben noch eine Kandidatin die von ihrer Gastfamilie in den höchsten Tönen gelobt wird und deshalb auch unser Runner - Up 2018 ist! Herzlichen Glückwunsch an Sophia Derrez!!
Sophia (24) ist Ergotherapeutin von der Berufsschule für Ergotherapie in Ludwigsburg und war für ein Jahr in den USA! Hier könnt ihr mehr dazu lesen was ihre Gastmutter über Sophia alles zu sagen hat!
I am writing this essay to nominate and enthusiastically support our professional au pair Sophia Derrez for Professional Au Pair of the Year. I need to preface this (not counting in my 800 words) that I am generally a very critical, demanding person/boss, so for me to sing someone’s praises is very meaningful:
We are not new to sharing our home with an au pair; Sophia is our fifth au pair. None of our previous au pairs have completed their year (for various reasons), and never before would we have been inclined to nominate one for this award. Sophia is our first “professional” au pair, and perhaps that has made the difference, although a lot of it just has to do with who she is as a person and a caregiver.
Sophia came to live with us in June of 2017, in transition from another family. We are so lucky that her first placement didn’t work out. As background, we are not an easy family to live with. We have two daughters, the oldest has significant cognitive and motor delays and behavioral issues. Our younger “typically developing” daughter can be a real handful! We are an extremely busy family – we work 60+ hours a week at our own business and have many obligations. Sophia, from the start, jumped right in and really embraced the position of an “au pair”. She bonded with the children immediately and worked to find ways to deal with our older daughter’s behavioral issues. She saw to all their needs, organized their rooms and kept their areas tidy. It was such a pleasure to come home from work and not have to clean up after the kids. It was a pleasure to leave for work and know they were being cared for.
But these are (or should be) the “expected” duties of an au pair. Sophia went so far above and beyond that. Her attention is always completely on the girls. She cares for them as if they were her own. She stayed with them when they were home sick. When our older daughter was sick to her stomach Sophia cared for her and nursed her so we could go to work. When I arrived home at 8 pm, when Sophia should be done with a challenging shift, I found her comforting my sick daughter as she was falling asleep. As I walked into my daughter’s room I would have expected an au pair to check the time, and leave. Sophia didn’t. What time it was and whether she was “off duty” or not was not a concern of hers. She stayed with my daughter until she fell asleep, gave her a kiss and tucked her in. This is how she always was – concerned about others, not herself.
Sophia has blended right in with the family. She joins us for meals and outings. We can discuss all topics and compare how life here and in Germany are similar or different. At Thanksgiving we learned that they do not have “pies” in Germany! She joins us on adventures that may not otherwise have been along her line of interests. On her day off she joined me and my daughters to the “Equine Affaire”, a horse-related event that we go to every year. Sophia has no prior experience or interest in horses, but joined us to fully experience what our family does with our precious free time. It was chilly and probably not something she otherwise would have attended, but I think we all had fun. She was happy just to share the experience with us.
When Sophia first arrived I discovered she enjoys outdoor and athletic activities. I thought it would be fun if she and I did a “Spartan” race together, as a team-building exercise, so we signed up! We helped each other through mud pits and over walls. She even stopped along the course to help another athlete who was experiencing severe leg cramps. We had so much fun we went on to do two more, to complete the “trifecta” of races and obtain a special medal! We carry on this shared love of fitness by doing a daily workout every morning (literally every morning, 7 days a week, I have never been so fit!) and we go to a “Ninja” training class once a week. This allowed us to develop a good friendship, and I will forever think of her as part of our family.
Sophia is virtually unflappable; every day she shows up the same. Some people have “good” days and “bad” days, and having lived with au pairs in the past there were times we weren’t sure who was going to show up in the morning – happy and enthusiastic or grumbling and grumpy. Sophia is extremely even-tempered. And I can tell you that is hard to do living in our household! We are only saddened that she is returning home to Germany, instead of extending her stay an additional year, as her sister is having a baby. We will miss her terribly but know that a lifelong friendship has been made.
Kennt ihr schon unsere andere Runner - Up Kandidatin Katharina?
Nein? Dann schaut doch mal in ihrem Beitrag vorbei: