I’ve always loved the English language. I remember my dad enrolling me in a language school in Brazil when I was 8 and I felt really excited to finally start understanding what the English songs on the radio were about. I studied at that same school for 16 years, and I loved every minute of it.

When I had to decide what to study at university, I had trouble making up my mind. There were too many things I was interested in and I ended up choosing to study nutrition. As an interesting subject as it is, I’ve never really felt like it was the best career for me.

One summer in Brazil I decided to get a summer job and do something completely different to nutrition. I saw an ad on the paper for an English teaching job. I took the risk and applied for it. I got a call back and after a couple interviews and some training I started teaching a pre-intermediate class. I remember coming home from my first day at the new job and telling my mom that I wanted to do that until I retire.

Once I had found my real passion, it was time to act on it. I knew I needed a CELTA certificate to be able to teach English all over the world and I also needed to prove that my English was good enough to teach. As I have always loved to travel, my first step was to move to Ireland to work on my English. I studied in Dublin for about a year and after finishing my studies, I took an IELTS test and got a certificate of my level of English. With getting married and moving to Scotland in between, my husband was transferred to Australia and it was time for me to get my CELTA.

When I went to the CELTA interview, I was absolutely petrified by the amount of work we had to do in such a short period of time. I spent a lot of time preparing myself for it. However, as the classes begin,  little by little, taking one teaching practice at the time I started to realise that it was possible and I was going to succeed. It was a really good experience, especially because of the support and feedback we receive from our tutors, our peers and even the students. CELTA gave me the tools I needed to be able to teach and approach different levels and different students considering that everybody learns in different ways. It was hard work but at the same time it was when I became confident about my teaching skills.

Shortly after finishing CELTA, I started applying for jobs and in two weeks I got a job at Lexis. I went just for an interview and ended up observing an upper-intermediate class that would be mine from the following week. I was nervous, obviously, but at the same time I felt prepared. I was also very lucky to work with an amazing group of teachers who were always ready to help, discuss and share.

I’ve been at Lexis for almost two years now and it’s been an invaluable the experience. I have already taught most levels and a Cambridge class. The satisfaction I get from going to work every day, getting to know amazing people from all over the world and learning about their countries and their stories is unbelievable. I look forward to coming to work every day and there is no such thing as Sunday blues in my life. Having a CELTA certificate has given me the chance to have a career no matter where life takes me and I couldn’t be more grateful for this opportunity.