Having the chance to guide generations of students, to support them in their growth and self-discovery, sounds like a dream. Yet this is not just a beautiful ideal — it is the very reality of a profession I have embraced out of love for children.

In 2016, I graduated from Ion Maiorescu National College in Giurgiu, intensive Philology – English section and entered the Faculty of Letters at the University of Bucharest, specializing in Romanian and English language and literature. The time spent among books, the passion for reading, literary criticism and world literature laid the foundation for the desire to become a teacher of Romanian language and literature. So in 2019, I became a graduate in Philology. That same year, I also completed the Level I Psychopedagogical Module organised by the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the University of Bucharest, gaining the certification to teach both Romanian and English in Secondary School. I continued my academic journey by enrolling in the Master’s programme Didactics of Philological Disciplines at the Faculty of Letters and completing the Level II Psychopedagogical Module, which qualified me to teach at the high school level as well.

My journey at Avenor began in August 2019, when I joined the team as a Teaching Assistant. Since then, my professional life has evolved continuously. After passing the national exams – Titularizare and Definitivat -, I started the 2021–2022 school year as a Romanian language and literature teacher.

In 2022, I embraced a new and deeply meaningful role — that of form tutor — which has contributed immensely to my personal and professional development. This experience has taught me just as much as I hoped to offer my students and has brought some of the most rewarding moments of my career.

As continuous learning remains central to my professional growth, over the past few years I have attended several development programmes and conferences such as Learning Empowered by Technology, Oracy and the Power of Rhetoric, Teaching with Love and Logic, Questioning to Support Concept-Based Learning, as well as national training programmes as Why is there a need for a methodological guide for lower secondary education? and Why do we need evaluation?

A meaningful moment was participating, together with my Romanian department colleagues, in the ANPRO Symposium in autumn 2024, where we had the opportunity to present to the national Romanian teachers’ community our perspective on The Graduate Profile through the lens of the Romanian Language and Literature subject at Avenor College. The joy continued in the winter of 2025 when we participated again in the ANPRO symposium where we held a workshop on conceptual understanding.

In April 2024, I passed the preliminary inspection for enrollment in the exam for Gradul II, followed by the first formal inspection in March 2025. Each step brings me closer to the final exam scheduled for August 2026. It’s still a long process, but the job of a teacher involves a permanent desire to learn. 

Also in the summer of 2025, I completed the course Reading and Literature – Innovative Perspectives on Text Interpretation in Lower and Upper Secondary Education, organised by the Faculty of Letters, University of Bucharest. This programme offered me modern, classroom-ready tools and a refreshed perspective of the role of literature in today’s education.

The year 2025 brought with it a new professional challenge – joining the school’s Careers team. It was not only a new experience, but it was the chance to help my 9th grade students discover their strengths through interactive activities that will help them in their future careers and adult lives. In other words, to be prepared for their lives beyond Avenor.  The challenge continues next year.

The most emotional moment of my career was saying goodbye to the first group of students I had the privilege of guiding as their form tutor. I know that each of them will carry with them a part of what we built together. Today, I continue this journey with the same openness, care, and hope, convinced that every relationship we build with our students can become part of a success story. I believe that the role of a form tutor is fundamental to every student’s personal and academic development. 

For me, the core of the learning-teaching process is the student, and the current generation of students amazes me with their desire to discover new things, to know and to research. Therefore, I want to apply modern learning theories, discovery learning and all the strategies learned over the years to encourage students to freely express their opinions and feelings, see the world around them objectively and enjoy every moment of the learning process.