ENMU graduate finds opportunity to work with children

Name: Renee Carrell

Job: Assistant Director at Toriland Daycare.

What is your background? I graduated from Floyd High School and then from Eastern New Mexico University.

How long have you had this job? I have been with Toriland since June.

What does your job entail? I answer phones and assist parents with questions they might have. I help take care of the children who attend the daycare. I also handle the meal count. I help parents check in their children in the mornings and check out their children in the afternoons. I also help manage the teachers employed here.

What is a typical day like for you? Well, the time I come in depends on if I am opening or closing. If I am closing, I don’t come in until 9:30. I catch up on things that need to be taken care of in the mornings. After lunch we have nap time. I have to sometimes help the children get to sleep, but once they are asleep, that’s when I get paperwork done. In the afternoon I make sure that everything is in order so that when the parents pick up their children, it’s a smooth process. I basically just manage until closing time at 5:30.

Why did you choose this job? My degree from ENMU is in Elementary Education. At the time I graduated, there weren’t any teacher positions open in the area. I knew that I wanted to work with children, so I started looking and Toriland was the first daycare that I had the opportunity to work with.

What do you enjoy most about your job? The children.

What do you enjoy doing when you aren’t at work? I really don’t have any hobbies. I just like hanging out and working around my house.

— Compiled by PNT Correspondent Carrie Pendleton.