Cillian McGill

Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Early Childhood Care, Health and Education

Donegal – Letterkenny

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what led you to choosing your course? 

My name is Cillian Mc Gill, I’m 21 years old and this November I will be hopefully graduating with my honour’s level 8 degree in Early Childhood Care Health and Education (ECCHE). I started the course when I was 17 and fresh out of secondary school. I knew that I didn’t want to wait around long to get my education. I wasn’t exactly sure of what I wanted to do, but, I knew that I was interested in eventually studying occupational therapy and that this could be achieved through studying ECCHE. I was also aware that studying ECCHE gave me lots of options for further education such as being a primary school teacher, occupational therapist and many more. 
 
I would describe myself as a hardworking, determined and a friendly individual and I think these traits have helped me to excel in this course. I have never been seen or seen myself as academic or smart individual, however through participating in this course I have gained a vast amount of knowledge that has been helpful for learning in this course and also for general knowledge in life. I would encourage anyone who is unsure if they would like to be a primary school teacher, occupational therapist or an early years educator to attend this course as you are presented with so many options that will help to guide you in your future career progression. 

What are your favourite modules on the course?  

My favourite modules on this course have been the developmental psychology and the leadership and supervision in ECEC. I found the developmental psychology module really interesting due to learning about the ways the child’s brain works. I could also relate to a lot of the content that was taught, as you begin to understand how the environment and experiences that you had when you were younger shaped how you developed into who the person you are today. I never imagined that while I was in college that learning about the child’s brain or early life experiences would genuinely interest me but it was definitely one of my most favourite modules. The lecturers for this module have also been excellent and full of knowledge helping to make the course excellent. 
 
I also really enjoyed the leadership and supervision and the peer mentoring and professional development modules. As over the years of this course I have learned that I have an interest for being a leader and for training others, which has greatly shaped what I’d like to do after I finish my undergraduate degree. In these modules you will learn all about leadership, supervision and training just to name a few.  

Is there anything else about the course that you particularly enjoy or find beneficial?  

I really enjoyed getting to know all of my lecturers as they are all so helpful, kind and informative and I’m not just saying that! They have helped me out with answering countless emails and questions in class, giving great advice to help me achieve grades that I am proud of and for helping making me feel better in times of sadness and worry. Their definitely powerful to have on your side, so don’t be afraid to speak up and to make connections that could last a lifetime. 
 
I also really enjoyed being a class representative while in my third year of study. This is something that I wished I had applied for sooner! It felt great to feel that I was able to help classmates with questions and queries and to help organise emails to connect with our lecturers and year head about any queries that the class had. This is something that looks great on my C.V and is very fulfilling when you realise how much help you can be. So if you can and would like to defiantly apply to be a representative! 
 
I also really enjoyed the option of completing some of the Special Purpose Awards (SPA) offered while in fourth year. These were standalone awards that you completed outside of your college course that looked great on my C.V and that could help you to get employed.  

 
I got offered the chance in third year to study in Norway for my placement and it was an excellent opportunity. I came back to Ireland feeling confident, knowledgeable and more independent. I got to learn how another country’s early years sector works and got something to put on my C.V that not everyone else has. While in Norway I got to learn how the children play and learn outdoors in the snow, rain and sun and how early years educators (EYE)’s view themselves and the work they do. I got to attend a university and learn about the Norwegian way of life and risky play; and lastly I got to complete placement in a Norwegian kindergarten. Where I learned all about how the EYE’s work daily in a kindergarten service. 

What is the best thing about your course that you think new applicants should know?  

The best thing for new applicants to know about this course is the range of career possibilities that it offers. From being able to be a room assistant, room leader or manager in a creche, a substitute teacher for junior and senior infants in a primary school or even a lecturer in colleges or Education and Training Boards (ETB). There are so many opportunities from achieving your level 8 BSc Hons in ECCHE. There are additional opportunities that this course offers with further educating such as masters degrees that can give you a fantastic lifelong career in areas of primary school teaching, child psychology, occupational therapy and more. 

If you were speaking with a first year student about to start your course, what advice would you give them?  

My advice would be to be like a sponge and to absorb as much information as possible. This way you will learn all of the different knowledges that each module can give you. From this you will then be able to make a sound decision about what you would like to do after you leave college. 
 
I would also recommend that after you complete the second year of this course that you try and get yourself a part time job in a creche, play school or other early year environment as soon as possible. This will help you to learn what early years is all about and you will be able to use what you learn in college in practice and what you learn in practice to help inform your college learning. This will also help you to build up your experience for after graduation where some job positions will look for you to have some years of experience in the sector. 

What are your plans after ATU and any long-term goals you are aiming for?  

My plans after studying in ATU are to start and complete a masters degree in either occupational therapy or early childhood education. From this, I plan to either become a manager, trainer, lecturer or inspector for early years services or a team leader, manager or lecturer in occupational therapy.  

I plan to go into the teaching and managing route in either career; starting to build my professional identity as someone of excellence in either line of work.