Robert Farrell

New Bridges Middle & High School in Paramus is where I worked. I mainly followed the HRs instructions, filling in for people who were out sick or unable to come into work.

I was almost always subbing in a new classroom and was able to connect and communicate with all sorts of different people, from teachers to students. Most of my co-workers were much older than I was.

Did my best to accommodate my co-workers and to properly supervise the students I would be paired with.

Went into the job with no prior experience in Special Education and never caused any issues. Being able to help those kids through their day was a great feeling, but I was inexperienced and was never offered training. I ended up quitting because I felt the pay was not worth the stress of constantly being relocated. There was also constant COVID drama at the time, which only added to said stress.

Overall, this job helped me develop solid communication skills and the ability to better adapt in uncomfortable situations.

My mother runs a local Pet Sitting/Dog Walking business. She has many weeks where the amount of clients is too much for one individual to handle, and that's where I come in.

Some days I'll end up simply tagging along to provide assistance, and we'll handle the pets together. Other days the schedule is more crammed and we'll split some of the jobs.

This job has taught me many signs of a dog's behavior and has helped me with making new acquaintances and my overall responsibility as an adult. It's been very personally satisfying to be able to assist with the family business.