KAYLA M. KNOX
"You cannot influence the world by being just like it."
Kumon Math & Reading Program
In 2017, I began working at Kumon Math & Reading Learning Center. I work closely with children from the ages of three to seven years old, helping them develop better math and reading skills. I ensure that each child I work with is given individual instruction based on their unique learning style. I still work part-time at the Learning Center today, due to the fact that it is such a rewarding experience. Some of the duties I perform at the learning center include, teaching children to read, write, and spell. I also teach them basic math, such as addition and subtraction. In addition to this, I provide the parents of the children with a detailed verbal report of their child's behavior, educational performance, and progress; I may recommend different activities that parents can be doing at home with their children to help them improve. Other tasks include organizing, folders, worksheets, and file cabinets. However, the most important part of my job is working with the children.
While the entire job in itself is rewarding, I would have to say the most rewarding part of the job is getting to work with students who have learning disabilities, like myself. I am diagnosed with severe ADHD, so it is very easy for me to spot signs of this in the children I work with. It is also common that a large number of children who come to Kumon are there because they need extra help or struggle with some form of learning disability. Considering this, I am able to take the learning strategies that have helped me and pass them on to that child.
Childcare Services at Fivestones Church
In addition to working closely with children at the learning center, that only scratches the surface of my childcare experience. My passion for working with children truly began when I started working in childcare services at the church my family attended back in high school. Every Sunday morning before church, I assisted in teaching Sunday School to the children whose parents were in the first church service. During this time, we read Biblical stories to the children, performed plays, did crafts, etc. One thing about this job was that the age group of the children I worked with varied upon where I was needed. In other words, some days would be a blast, and others I would be cradling screaming babies, or changing dirty diapers. Regardless, I was more than happy to do so and it wasn't long until I fell in love with working with young kids.
Luckily, my childcare experience in the church did not end there. In fact, I eventually graduated to a paid position where I worked with the children of single moms while they were in a Bible Study a few nights a week. This job was even more so rewarding because not only was I getting to love on these children, but I was getting to help out these mothers.
As of today, I am no longer working in the childcare services at my church but I will never forget the experience it gave me, the children who impacted me, and where my passion for children all started.
Customer Service Skills
One of the skills I possess that I am the proudest of is my Customer Service Skills. There are several jobs I can attribute this development to, but I will begin with the first job I ever had at Chick-Fil-A. In addition to their delicious food, Chick-Fil-A is best known for its top-notch customer service skills. In fact, it was one of the first things we had engraved into us while beginning the position, and one of the main things that managers looked for in applicants while verbally interviewing them for the position. Anyone who has been to Chick-Fil-A knows that they say "my pleasure" as opposed to "you're welcome." While this may seem silly to most people, it is something that they taught us to take pride in; how something as minuscule as the sincerity of "my pleasure" could make such a difference.
In addition to Chick-Fil-A, I have worked various positions over the years that have helped me develop impeccable customer service skills. One of the most recent positions was working as a receptionist at a hair salon called, Fantastic Sams. This job consisted of me greeting and checking in all walk-in customers using my customer service skills. In addition to this, I answer phone calls for up to 5 different salon locations each day, from both in and out of state. While doing this, I schedule the customers for different hair services provided by different Fantastic Sams locations. This job required the use of these skills, as well as a lot of patience from dealing with angry customers. It is also one of the positions that I have worked that I am most proud to have on my resume due to the extensive duties I performed. These duties consisted of, taking phone calls for & scheduling 5 different salons locations at once, including 3 from New York, as well as managing 5 different phone lines, ensuring all phone calls
were transferred to the correct location. In addition to this, I scheduled and coordinated appointments for stylists at multiple salons, assisted all customers, checking them in and directing them to their stylists, took inventory of salon products, and used customer service skills to sell store products to customers in addition to the service they received. Lastly, I answered at least 50 phone calls a day and was required to maintain knowledge of which stylists work at each location in order to schedule appointments quicker.
Finally, my current position of employment is working as a Hostess at one of the nicest restaurants in Charlotte, Fahrenheit. Similar to Chick-Fil-A, this job also takes immense pride in having the best of the best customer service skills instilled in their employees.