Emma | Northcross

“I’m a youth worker, I work part-time, so I work with like a variety of different kids pretty much most days, all from different backgrounds, and dealing with different things in their lives. I learn a lot from them, and it’s really cool.

I just worked with someone who’s going through a lot of family stuff, and it’s amazing to see how that person just gets on with their life. There’s a lot of things that can happen that you just shut yourself off from, and you wouldn’t really want to keep going, but they just do it, and it’s kind of really inspiring. 

I think I just learned that you can learn. Even though I’m in a role where I’m supposed to be helping and supporting them, I feel like they’re the one that’s actually teaching me. Like how to, just be a better human being really, and learning how to communicate with different people, and knowing that you don’t have to hand out advice. You just have to kind of listen, and that’s what a lot of people want. 

I am actually doing my masters of applied social work. I’m at Massey University, and I actually went to Bays Youth as part of my placement and then they offered me a job, and I just started working there. I’ve always known I’ve wanted to work with youth. So, it was just a kind of no-brainer to end up there. I went through a lot of stuff as a kid where I kind of needed someone to be there for me. So, I think now I just get the chance to be there for someone else.

I grew up in a small town called Kaiwaka, which is in the middle of nowhere, and I think the most important thing to me in my life is just my family and my friends, and animals.”