Joanna Bebarfald
Speech-Language Pathologist
Jo Bebarfald was working on the north coast of New Zealand’s north island when she met a fellow from Canada who had a friend working at Renfrew Educational Services in Calgary. Having decided to combine work with travel, she was looking for a job opportunity in Canada. She connected with Renfrew’s HR department who helped her to get a work visa for a year. She is now in her fourth year at Renfrew, has met and married a Canadian, and plans to continue on at Renfrew indefinitely.
“It’s great to be working for an
organization that has such a good
reputation in the community.”
There are many things that Jo likes about her job at Renfrew: the availability of resources, the teams she works with, the large group of therapists to learn from, the play-based approach to learning that is the cornerstone of Renfrew’s ECS programs, and the generous professional development opportunities. “What I most appreciate is having the opportunity to work with the children each week throughout the year, and having the satisfaction of seeing progress as a result of the work that is done,” she says. “It’s also great to be working for an organization that has such a good reputation in the community.”
Jo introduced her husband, who was working in a completely different field, to Renfrew and, after working a year as an educational assistant in a Renfrew classroom, he has returned to university to get a teaching credential. Once he finishes, they plan to continue travelling, taking advantage of the summers off that Renfrew staff can opt for. “Working a school year with the extended periods of time off is something I really like”, Jo says.