Marisa Bruan started teaching in 1987 in her native Philippines, teaching primary school students, she then moved to Indonesia before settling in New Zealand.
In 2003 she moved down to Central Otago, relieving in a Montessori early childhood centre in Wānaka.
It was in Wānaka where Ms Bruan discovered her passion, teaching in ECE and by 2007 she was a fully qualified early childhood teacher.
The same year Barnardos opened their early learning centre in Cromwell, where Ms Bruan has taught since.
The centre’s building was cut into three pieces and trucked down from Christchurch and rebuilt on the land of Goldfields School, she said.
One of the most satisfying things about being an ECE teacher was the time a teacher could spend with their children, compared to the one year a primary school teacher might spend, she said.
The Barnardos centre in Cromwell took children from aged up to six, when they were ready for primary school.
During that time, ECE teachers saw children grow into competent, confident and capable school pupils.
Ms Bruan said it was bittersweet to see a child leave to go to school because the strength of the relationship that had developed over the years as well as the progress they had made during their time in ECE.
The job of an ECE teacher involves a lot of joy and spontaneity, she said.
"When you come to work, they’ll ask for things, like, can we listen to this music, or can we do diamond digging? So we provide it."
Being an ECE teacher also meant a lot of involvement in the community, taking the children on library and rest-home visits as well as performing in kapa haka, she said.
During her time as an ECE teacher in Cromwell the biggest change she has seen is the shift in demographics, with children from around the world attending the centre.
Ms Bruan said she loves her job and that she does it because she is passionate about the children and learning. That passion extends to herself and she is studying for a postgraduate diploma in leadership and management.
Despite nearing the end of her career journey, Ms Bruan said she still interacted with children. That kept drawing her to her job and meant that now was not the time for retirement.
