April 2021 Student Spotlight – Holly Sena

My name is Holly Sena and I’m from Oceanside, New York.  I began my career with children about 20 years ago; however, my love for children started when I was a young child and my mom would babysit children in the house.  I loved helping her with bottles and diapers and playing with the children.  I loved going to the park with them.  I work with infants right now and I have worked with all ages; however, working with infants is my specialty.  I really enjoy all the stages they go through from tummy time to being able to walk and talk and go on to the next class.  My favorite time of day is free play which is tummy time or children playing on the floor with toys or sitting and playing and interacting with each other.  We are busy all day long.  I just love being with them and it is so rewarding when the baby sees me and gives me the biggest smile.  I don’t think any other career measures up to that.  To me, it is not just a job, it is something I love and feel is very rewarding in my life.

I would love to finish my college degree in Early Childhood Education and continue to work with children.  I would definitely recommend ChildCare Education Institute for professional development training to others.  It was a great experience for me and the student support staff, including my Education Coach, were very helpful and encouraging throughout my training.  They made the learning experience a fun and positive one.  The classes I took at CCEI were for the Infant-Toddler Certificate.  I learned so much in this certification program from child abuse to positive guidelines.  The courses were very informative and provided great content for me to use and implement in my classroom right away.  It helped me solidify furthering my career in ECE and pursuing college courses to ultimately teach PreK one day if the opportunity presents itself.  I definitely highly recommend my experience with CCEI to others!