Her magic is all in their imagination
Saturday, 7 March 2009
By Jackson Payne
She is a business consultant from the United States who works with "CEOs of major companies". But her new job? Reading to small children.
Chicago woman Aleen Bayard moved to Gisborne in January with her husband, a radiologist.
She is here for six months. Her mission: To do volunteer work.
"When I first got here I went pretty much everywhere in town saying I wanted to do volunteer work. So the library set me up with schools."
After the library set her up, she developed a costume and a name - Miss Puka Puka (meaning book).
"I carry around a wand as part of my costume and some of the kids ask whether it is really magic. I say it is and they always ask whether I can turn them into a frog. I just say the magic is all in your imagination."
Rangi Tangohau, of H. B. Williams Memorial Library, said Mrs Bayard was "a real high-flyer" back in Chicago.
"She's fabulous - we're really happy for her to go into schools and read because that's her passion. She loves kids and loves books."
"Usually I'm reading to 35-year-old MBA students, so it's a little different - I'm not wearing my hat and my cape," Mrs Bayard said, talking about her job as a professor at Northwestern University in Chicago.
She has taken on similar work, taking leadership seminars at Management Business Education.
She also works as a consultant with CEOs of large corporations.
Mrs Bayard is sharing her experiences in New Zealand on her blog at www.newzealeens@blogspot.com.
"When I get back to the States I will probably have to get back to the real world again," she said.
Story by The Gisborne Herald
Copyright © The Gisborne Herald
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