The following IAPA Au Pair of the Year nomination essay was written by the Carsky-Wilson family.

"Lenuta has shown herself to be flexible, capable and extremely hard working. While my husband was activated for Active Duty with the U.S. Army, she came to our house to care for our two children who have always been cared for during the day by their father. My older son Lucas was spoiled in some ways – he was very passive, and used to having things done for him. She brought structure, discipline, and expectations for Lucas. She survived a lot of resistance and misbehavior on his part, and has helped him grow to be a much more self-sufficient, capable, helpful and pleasant child. Andrew on the other hand has been somewhat neglected due to the great demands placed on us by his older brother. Lenuta gave lots of attention to Andrew who was just over a year old when she arrived and has helped him blossom into an articulate, fun loving, happy, playful and social child. Without my asking, Lenuta has also contributed a lot to keeping the household clean and neat. Soon after her arrival, she had designed a schedule for herself, devoting different days of the week for sweeping and vacuuming, a day for trash collection and recycling, a day for some

extra in-depth cleaning projects (scrubbing woodwork or cleaning the kitchen cabinets for example), etc. She also cooks and prepares meals for the boys ensuring they are fed on a regular schedule (which doesn’t always happen when Mom and Dad are in charge!), which makes the children much happier.

Lenuta’s command of the English language is exceptional. She has a very pleasant and easy to understand accent, and her conversational ability, as well as reading and writing skills, has surprised me from day one. We have enjoyed discussions ranging from politics and religion, to popular culture, and she has an interest in learning about a variety of different cultures, music, beliefs, etc. She has been very easy to live with and considerate of our beliefs and our preferences even when they differed significantly from her own. I’ve particularly appreciated that Lenuta has helped me to improve my parenting skills. She arrived with a wealth of childcare experiences that she has shared at appropriate times. She has worked closely with me to help identify the best approach to solve behavioral problems the children have had and worked with me to endure that we treat the children consistently. She often has good ideas for solving child-rearing challenges that I would never have considered, based on her previous experience and intuition.

I have appreciated her candor, helpfulness and willingness to pitch in on all occasions. While being away from her country and all that was familiar has been an extreme hardship for her, she has not let it affect her ability to provide top-notch childcare to my boys. Even when she has no doubt felt extreme homesickness, watching them do some silly thing still puts a big smile on her face. Working with children is clearly her interest and passion. She doesn’t just love children because they are cute, but she sees them as the world’s future and treats them that way, helping them to become responsible and thoughtful individuals. Lenuta has accomplished a lot in her life. Despite losing her parents as a teenager, she was able to complete high school, take several university courses, maintain her own apartment and work a very demanding job proper to applying for the Au Pair program. Although she has never been outside of Romania, let alone Europe, she was excited and courageous enough to go through the rigorous goAUPAIR and visa application process required coming to America, without parental support and encouragement many enjoy." Written by: Carsky-Wilson Family, VA