From Heritage day to New York

Alice and her charges!

Alice Yates
Norland Nanny
Set 33

I recently had the privilege of flying home from my job in New York to see my sister, Becca (Set 37), display her work at Heritage Day (which used to be called Display Day) it is incredible the sense of pride that I felt towards Becca and all of set 37 - I know exactly what they've been through. My Display Day was in May of 2011, I seem to remember a lot of hard work and stress leading up to the morning and perhaps didn't appreciate the final product. When you see the light at the end of the tunnel with your creative, practical and academic work from the years you spent at college, you almost forget how hard it actually was. The feeling of finishing college and the eagerness of starting a new and exciting first role within a family is euphoric. That is why I am so glad to have been a part of this year’s Heritage Day and I tip my hat to Clare Dent (Norland graduate and now Norland lecturer) who drummed in the importance of reflection. It may have taken 5 years for me to reflect on my display but it has finally happened; what an achievement to complete training at Norland College. I am so proud of both my sister and myself. I also feel a sense of happiness and relief for my parents too who have been there for every step; the tears that were shed, my frustration over creative skills and the painstaking moment of 'can you proof read my essay?'.

Alice (right), Becca (in uniform)

Currently Becca is looking through pages and pages of NQN jobs (Newly Qualified Nanny, or Probationary Post as us old Norlanders know it) this is something I remember very clearly. The excitement of job possibilities is endless and I'm so interested to see where Becca will choose. 2 years ago, after qualifying in 2013 with my Norland Diploma, I was in a similar position, I wanted a new challenge, to see the world and do something a little bit different. I made the hard decision of handing in my notice in and started the search for a new job. At the time, I couldn’t find a job that was the right fit for me so I did what anybody would do when searching for adventure and started temp nannying. It was a fantastic adventure; .in the space of 4 months I sailed around Italy on a super yacht, had a completely new experience of working for a Jewish family and 6 weeks in a family
searching for a Probationer (now NQN). And then ‘The New York job’ that I had been looking for
came up through Norland Agency! From then it all happened very quickly, one minute I was in my sleepy village the next minute I was on a plane heading to my trial week in Manhattan. I immediately fell for the job; starting when the twins were 18months old and the older child had just turned 3...I did say I wanted a challenge. I didn't want to leave the trial, but unfortunately US visas are a little tricky so I was home for 4 weeks, spent countless hours filling out visa forms and saying goodbyes. Before I knew it, I was at Heathrow airport saying a very teary goodbye to my parents and off I went - a new adventure.

Norland Nannies in New York!

I love my job, my life and everything about New York City. The leap of faith was worth it. I'm not saying it's not hard work and incredibly demanding, but so worthwhile. Since being here, more and more Norlanders have also arrived and it's great to have a Norland network again. This means Nanny coffee mornings are a weekly occurrence, I always have a travel buddy on a long weekend and of course the unmissable reassuring ding of the group chat when someone wants to meet up or a chat.

If the US government could figure out a visa for Norland Nannies and recognise that our childcare training is of the upmost importance, I would love to call this home for much longer instead two years specified by my visa. As it is, I'll enjoy my last 5 months, I will take all the memories I have and the love for my New York family will never fade.