Komara_Project5Podcast

Mary Camaro hosts a podcast with her friends Tara and Allie. They discuss work-life balance and how they manage their busy lives. Tara is a speech-language pathologist and hopes to become a literacy coach. Allie is an occupational therapist and is getting married soon. Mary is a teacher and struggles with balancing her full-time job, part-time jobs, and grad school. They all use calendars and lists to stay organized. They find ways to relax and spend time with loved ones after a long work week. Mary enjoys getting her nails done and participating in a book club. They emphasize the importance of using personal days and prioritizing self-care. They are unsure if they will stay in the education field long-term but are open to new opportunities. Hey guys, I'm Mary Camaro, welcome to my podcast. My special guests are my two friends, Tara and Allie. Today's podcast episode is all about what keeps you going after a long work week and we want our viewers to evaluate their work-life balance. Please welcome the lovely Tara and Allie to the podcast. Hey, thanks for having us. Yeah, thank you Mary. It's great to be here. So guys, can you tell me a little bit about yourselves? Tara? Yeah, my name is Tara Page. I'm currently a speech-language pathologist in the public school system and I have been for about 27 years. I've worked primarily in school districts and intermediate units and I recently obtained a master's degree in literacy and hope to become a literacy coach or reading specialist. And I've been married for almost 26 years and have three children, two in college and one in high school. Allie? My name is Allie Alts and I'm an occupational therapist. I'm a recent grad. I graduated with my master's degree in OT from Missouri Point University in 2022 and I've been a school-based OT for about two years and I'm getting married next year. Can't wait. Congratulations. All right, Mary, I know your viewers already know a lot about you, but why don't you tell them a bit about yourself? Well, I'm a 23-year-old girl. I'm teaching autistic support, currently living at home with my mom and sister. Funny, right? I have a dog named Nelly and I'm hoping to move out of my mom's house soon. Yeah, let's hope so. So guys, how do you manage everything? We're always so busy. What is your work-life balance? I'd say my work-life balance is something I prioritize, especially when things at work get very busy. This time of year especially is when I get very busy. Literally. And I make it a point to leave work tasks for at work when possible and not do it at home so that I have some sort of separation. Right. Definitely. Right. Don't take that computer home. Yeah. I try to make lists and it would be lots without my calendar for both school and work. But I do struggle with work-life balance. There's just a lot of both. What about you, Mary? What do you do to manage everything? This is something I definitely struggle with at times. I have a full-time job, obviously, and two part-time jobs, which is probably not the best thing for me, and also going to grad school. So it's hard to balance everything I want to do plus the fun things in life, like going to get coffee, my nails done, spend time with people that make me happy. I mean, I try to use a planner and a checklist, but I'm a very type B teacher. You see my desk and drawers in my classroom. I'm not the neatest, but I try my best. I really need to get better at it. And actually for my class, for my instructional design, I'm doing a course on academic study skills for success. I'm trying to teach freshman students about time management skills. So maybe I can teach myself a little more. Yeah. So what keeps you guys going after a long work week? Either of you can share. It's fine. All right. So definitely a few beverages with friends, walk with my dog, shopping and coffee shops with my daughters, or watching my son's baseball game. And what about you, Ellie? I make time to hang out with my friends, relaxing at home with my fiance, Daniel, definitely calling home to my family and staying in touch with them since I've moved away from my hometown and making time for any of my hobbies. I like to read. I like to go on hikes. I like to spend a lot of time outdoors. So anything that I can do to make sure that I'm meeting some of my own leisure type goals is really good. And Mary, what keeps you going after a long work week? Well, as you know me, I'm a busy, busy girl. But, you know, I like getting my nails done like once or twice a month, spending time with my family, maybe a cocktail on a pay day, Friday. And honestly, I started book club. So every Friday or Saturday at the end of the month, book club is what keeps me going, having that. And honestly, using my personal days. I think it's a really big thing, using your personal days. Like you have them for a reason, so why not use them? I think people look at them as a reason to take off. So might as well, like, use them or lose them. Yeah. Who needs the $50? I need the day off. That's true. It's worth so much more than $50. Yeah. Relax. Like, spend that time for yourself. And I really need to start doing that more. So my last question for you both is, do you think you'll stay in the education field as a speech therapist, reading specialist, OT, for the next couple years or so? What do you think? I would say at least for the next couple of years. I don't know what the future really holds, just because there are so many opportunities out there for me as an OT. I also work PRN in a nursing home. And while that's not my favorite placement to work in, it is definitely a different avenue. So I'm open to exploring new possibilities, especially within my career and being a recent graduate. But I do enjoy working in the school systems and the educational setting, so I could definitely be staying for definitely the next couple of years. Sarah? Yeah, I definitely want to keep my license and certification up. But to be honest, I would be ready for a change. And I don't know what the future holds, but I'll keep my options open. The field of education is definitely not for the faint of heart. No, and it definitely has changed in the last couple years, I would say. Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you, ladies, for coming on my podcast episode today. And thank you for sharing your own experiences. I think it's important to prioritize yourself and the little things in life that makes each day easier. So thanks for coming on. Bye, guys. Bye. See ya. See ya. See ya. See ya. See ya. See ya. See ya. See ya. See ya. See ya. See ya. See ya.