I provide administrative assistance to busy professionals who send me the administrative tasks they either do not have time to do, or would rather not do.

—By Mary Dillon

Mary Dillon, Virtual Assistant to Educators, Entrepreneurs, and SMEs.

It was with a heavy heart that I left my position as administrator of An Máistir Gairmiúil san Oideachas at NUI, Galway. This course at NUI Galway really is unique as it boasts a 100% rate of employment for its graduates, it is the only Irish-medium secondary teacher-training Masters, and there are also financial incentives for students who wish to become teachers of Modern European Languages, Mathematics, or Science through Irish.

Up until June 2019, I had spent seven years working with wonderful colleagues and students in The School of Education. I had a good, pensionable job and I was about to walk away from it all and leave the country for the foreseeable future. My partner John and I packed up our belongings and drove down to the south of France to start our new chapter. The drive was not without its difficulties as we also had an old cat and two big Golden Retrievers with us!

View from home of Mary Dillon in the south of France.

Almost a year later, we are well settled in our lovely mountain home where we grow our own fruit and vegetables and I provide administrative assistance to busy professionals who send me the administrative tasks they either do not have time to do, or would rather not do. As this is the area with the highest rate of unemployment in France, I had to create my own opportunities and I now work from my home office and I enjoy every minute of it.

COVID-19 has changed a lot of aspects of all of our lives and our move would not have been possible if we had waited a few more months. We have no regrets and this was definitely the right choice for us. I am in regular contact with my wonderful ex-colleagues and they have also faced many challenges due to this virus. Hopefully, it will not be long before they are back in the classrooms engaging with students face-to-face and sharing their vast pedagogical knowledge.

Please do get in touch should you need any administrative help. I will be delighted to hear from you!

Au revoir et merci!

MaryDillonVA@outlook.com
00353 876981108

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