A day in the life of Amy McPhail – ITC Tutor
One thing that ITC Tutor Amy McPhail does every day is walk her two beautiful dogs, Leia and Ivy.
Known for her impeccable organisational skills, bright smile and friendly personality, Amy is a Travel Tutor at ITC’s Botany Campus. She also helps with academic support, assisting the academic team with the writing and monitoring of assessments. Below she gives us a glimpse into her typical day at work.
Describe your typical day
I spend most of my day teaching and doing marking and lesson planning. I also help with academic support – updating lesson plans, making new resources, developing teaching content and monitoring assessments.
The teaching timetable changes every few weeks, which keeps things interesting. I teach Level 3 Tourism, Level 4 Tourism and Level 3 Aviation. My favourite is probably teaching Cabin Crew as part of the aviation qualification.
How do you stay organised?
I’ve got a weekly planner on my desk which shows me which classes I’m teaching each day. I also have a to-do list that I tackle throughout the week.
What do you do after work? How do you unwind after a busy day?
Usually once I get home, my partner and I take our two dogs for a walk. We have two miniature schnauzers called Leia and Ivy. After that, I might go to an exercise class at the gym or for a quick jog, before having dinner.
I try to get to bed early so I can get a good night’s rest – and read a few chapters on my Kindle before I fall asleep.
What’s your favourite thing about your job?
The best thing about being a tutor is the last day, when you get to see students at 100 per cent and you get to tell them that they’ve passed. Just seeing their faces, and how happy they are – it makes my day. It’s always great to see how excited they are, and how hard they’ve worked to achieve their goals.
Let’s finish with a few fun questions to help students get to know you better.
Favourite time of day: I like the evenings. I love getting into bed at the end of a busy day and reading my book.
Favourite place you’ve visited within the last 12 months: Todd and I went to Rarotonga and I LOVED it – it was so relaxing. You can bike around the whole island in a day and there are so many nice beaches.
Favourite place in New Zealand: Tauranga and Mt Maunganui – my hometown. Love going home.
Favourite food: I have a sweet tooth, so anything sweet! Chocolate, ice cream, cake…
Currently listening to: I like listening to Pandora radio on a Katy Perry or Taylor Swift mix.
Currently watching: We’re watching a few shows on Netflix. Just finished the OA.
Currently reading: A series called Midnight Texas by Charlaine Harris, the same author who wrote the True Blood books.
Favourite advice to give to students: Never give up. For example, if you have to re-sit an assessment don’t lose motivation. Or if you don’t get the first job you apply for, don’t give up. You will get there if you keep going. My dream job was to be a flight attendant but I didn’t get that dream job on my first interview. I went to three interviews for different airlines before I got there.
Amy is currently teaching at ITC’s Botany Campus. To learn more about ITC’s airline, travel and tourism courses, contact us today. We’d love to hear from you.
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