Welcome back to Teacher Tuesday!
This week we present you with what we could call a “Special Edition”, where it’s not a teacher to be interviewed, but our Office and Finance manager, Catherine.
Last week, with Patrick’s conversation, we had a peek into what life in the College’s Office looks like, but this time we will dive deeper into what the administration responsibilities include and what Catherine’s daily tasks are.
Catherine joined the EIC team in March 2021, when the College was still navigating through the wild waters of Covid. Indeed, she admits she had a rough start: with little to no crossover with the person who covered her role before her, she was left to manage an unknown Office that was coming out from a challenging year.
Luckily, the overwhelming feeling that accompanied the first month Catherine worked at the College soon left space for confidence and determination. In fact, at present everyone would attribute those two qualities to Catherine, who is often the person that solves problems, gives instructions and guidelines, and inspires security and knowledge.
So often teachers visit the College’s Office to ask Catherine questions and clarify their doubts, and punctually, every single time, she has the answers.
Indeed, what Catherine enjoys most about her role are the interactions with staff and parents. In particular, she finds it fulfilling to be helpful to parents. In her role of Office Manager, she often sends emails to families, acting as the link between the College and the students’ homes. Also, as Finance Manager, she is in touch with families on a monthly or termly basis to discuss fees and various payments.
However, her role includes so much more: she oversees Human Resources, updates Payroll details monthly, places orders for the entire College, monitors inbound and outbound payments on behalf of the College, records invoices. In truth, the list would not end here, but to not fill the entire article with detailed tasks, we just reported her main responsibilities.
Catherine enjoys working at EIC; before joining the EIC team she had always worked as Practice Manager in three different Architectural Companies, where she was part of small teams of about 30/35 employees.
Instead, at Ealing Independent College, the Community includes students, families and staff, giving Catherine the fun challenge of liaising each part.
“No two days are the same here, you could never predict what challenges you are going to face coming into the Office, but this is part of the fun”.
When asked about what she reckons being the College’s strength, she only uses one word: Inclusivity. She explains that she believes there is a real sense of Community here, and the students are treated like young adults, which helps them gain independence.
But who is Catherine outside EIC?
We asked to share her biggest interest, and she explained that family is what currently takes up most of her time after work hours, but she doesn't mind it. She is a caring mother to two children, a loving wife, and a doggy mum too!
She also enjoys going on holidays to warm countries and sunbathing on the beach.
Finally, as the Teacher Tuesday tradition wants, we end with a fun fact about her: she loves “lobster roll” nail polish, and her nails would always and exclusively be varnished in that tint (very similar to coral red).