I grew up with a love of adventure and the outdoors, and a life indoors was never going to gratify me. This led me to train for my Ski Instructor's Level One in my last year of high school with dreams of immediate travel, adventures and skiing.
When I passed my ski instructor exams just before my high school finals, it was difficult not to just drop out of school then and there! I had a job offer in Austria, and was all set to pack up and leave, but I also knew that I wanted something to ground me. I needed to be in an industry where I was constantly challenged cognitively, and had the opportunities for ongoing development.
Physiotherapy was actually a career that my Mum had suggested, and it made sense immediately. It was a job which was easily transferable to different places, and even different countries. It incorporates sport in most aspects, and is also a career where you don’t have to be in an office. Four years of study was a huge sacrifice for me, but looking back, I know that there is nothing else I would rather have pursued. It also allowed me to travel in the university holidays and get some exposure to world.
I went to America and Japan and fell more in love with the snow and skiing. I qualified with my Physiotherapy degree, and returned to America straightaway. When I came home, I applied for a job in my local ski town, and started there in the winter. I would work either morning or evening shifts in town and spend the day up the mountain skiing. My clients even didn’t mind if I cancelled their appointments on a powder day!
I have since worked in numerous different areas, including other ski towns and in the Ski Patrol up Cardrona, where my office looked directly out to the slopes. I have spent time working with rugby teams and high performance sports teams – there are plenty of opportunities to travel in this area of physiotherapy! I have also taken time out in between Physiotherapy jobs to focus on my skiing, including a season in Japan and a season in America where I was concentrating entirely on skiing. This time out hasn’t affected the development of my career at all, and I am able to return to the industry and pick up where I left off.
While I was travelling, I would work as a locum – meaning I would take contracts that would last between one and four months. The last three years, I have also been working towards my Masters – I am currently 1/3 of the way there, and it definitely lives up to the challenge I was after! I am able to do this part time while I continue to work and travel, and it fits into my lifestyle perfectly.
I feel like I have settled a bit in the ten years since I trained as a ski instructor! I now have a permanent job – however I do get two months off per year to allow me to spend winters in Wanaka. I absolutely love my job, and I love the opportunities it has provided for me in the last ten years. I am looking forward to where it will take me, but one thing I know, I will continue to spend as much time exploring, travelling and adventuring as I can.