Women Who Changed the World in Their Own Way

While summer is all about regenerating our focus, aims and of course energy, for me it is also about reflecting on the work of other inspring people too. Today, I would like you to meet three incredible women, with three different paths but equally inspirational. Read below to learn why I wish to add these remarkable women on my 40 before 40 list of inspirational people.

Dr Anna Baldacchino 

The first time I met Dr. Baldacchino I was doing my Higher National Diploma in ECEC. I remember clearly how excited she was to be amongst us and she had so much knowledge to offer. The topic was related to families and I can not forget how much she made us feel as part of her family too. She supported us wholeheartedly even when she was still getting familiar with her new role in Malta after being in Canada for some a while. She captured my attention ever since and definitely deserves a spot in my 40 before 40 list of inspirational people.

Dr. Anna holds a Bachelor Degree in Child and Family Studies and a Master in Education from the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), Canada, together with a Doctorate from the University of Sheffield (UK), specialising in the Early Years. She has served as a Learning Manager at Holland College, Prince Edward Island and part-time lecturer in the Faculty of Education at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), (2003-2013). She has delivered various presentations on themes relating to ​Early Childhood Education and Development and the Emergent Curriculum in Taiwan, Sweden, Japan, Canada, Australia, The Netherlands, Mauritius, Seychelles, Barbados and Grenada.  I have been lucky enough to also attend some of her local and international presentations (both online and face to face) too. She is not just wonderful as an academic but even more so in person too. I promise!

She has a number of articles published in peer-reviewed journals about Early Childhood Education and is the co-author of the book titled: The Emergent Curriculum for the Early Years in Malta https://www.routledge.com/An-Emergent-Curriculum-for-the-Early-Years-in-Malta-Stories-of-Professional-and-Pedagogical-Transformation/Bonello-Baldacchino-Dalli/p/book/9781032664743 to which I was lucky enough to read and feel inspired by other local practitioners who embrace The Emergent Curriculum wholeheartedly.

Nevertheless many know Dr.Baldachinno as the co-founder and President of the Early Childhood Development Association of Malta (ECDAM), a platform which was much needed within the local Maltese ECEC community and is expanding international interests too. I was lucky enough to go abroad with Dr.Baldachinno and witness first hand how her passion is beyond books, papers and writing articles. She is a true advocate for quality education and above all an advocate for child's right based learning and democratic participation. Lately I have been privileged to attend the ECDAM's 10th year anniversary celebrations. Listening to how far Dr.Baldachinno's idea and concept for ECDAM had flourished, together with her partners in crime, is enough food for thought for one to reflect on why this association co-funded by Dr.Baldachinno has already made an impact in Maltese ECEC community. She oozes inspiration in abundance and anyone who is part of ECDAM know exactly what I mean.

She is also the co-founder of the B&B Early Years Consultancy in the Early Years, providing yet another safe space for ECEC practitioners and parents to keep growing within this field. Dr. Anna currently lectures on curriculum knowledge in the early years and children in society within the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta and while I may not have her as one of my lecturers or tutors for my MA studies, I know that she is simply a call away should I ever need her expertise. Thank you Dr. Baldacchino for truly believing in me, the Maltese ECEC practitioners and above all work tirelessly to improve the quality of education our students truly deserve. Your passion for the ECEC community has made a difference and you have built a safe space for Early Years practitioners to meet, network and above all feel safe.

Mrs. Krissie Allison Gouder

Although she is a full time primary class teacher, a part-time Lecturer and Dissertation tutor, I first met Mrs. Krissie on my first ever Kindergarten full time employment. She saw my drive through her son's eyes and I saw hers through the same lens. Mrs. Gouder actually was an initial inspiring woman who helped me learn more about progressing with my professional development with a young child and family to care for. While I was teaching her son, she was completing one of her Masters studies. I was in awe on how wonderful she was balancing motherhood and her own professional growth. She showed me how to be resilient and perseving, without her actually knowing. She describes herself as a mix of deep passions, distinct quirks, and a lot of caffeine to which I also add humble, a warrior and above all encouraging.

Professionally, she describes how her heart belongs entirely in education and psychology. She spends days working with young minds in the primary classroom as a class teacher, and in the evenings, Iecturing and tutoring at a university level LSEs who are reading for their degree and/or master’s themselves. The way how she balances all the above and still makes time to be fun and true to herself, is a core value which I aim to project in life.

A huge part of Mrs.Krissie's journey was heading back to university twice, in 2015 and 2022, as a working mum, to read for her two master’s degrees (one in Inclusive Education, and the other in Teaching and Learning). Juggling family, an intense workload, and late-night studying was an absolute whirlwind, and she honestly describes her survival to all of this because of her incredibly supportive husband. Cue the tears but YES this ressonated with me completely. Luckily I witnessed a small fraction of the helped Mrs.Gouder recalls having with her husband. They were always a team, one unit and holding it all together as it should be. As an educator I saw this in many forms and on a personal level I was able to feel that connection through my own support system. How wonderful it is for Mrs. Gouder to acknowledge her achievements not soley based on her resilience alone but how her vision was supported by others who complimented her journey.

Another reason why Mrs. Krissie deserves a spot in my 40 before 40 list is because she is a total one of a kind. She describes herself as not fitting into the standard mold in which she describes herself as an unrepentant nerd with a heavy alternative aesthetic; so, you’ll usually find her in a classic black wardrobe or something as she calls obnoxiously loud, with split dyed black and red hair. Guilty...My pink hair inspirational goals came from Mrs. Krissie and I love how she inspired me to just go for it. To balance out all the lesson planning and academic brainpower, she loves hitting the gym for heavy weight training, diving into epic fantasy worlds like Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, and spending time with her animals.

I love how she balances out the serious side of life with a healthy dose of reality by being fiercely independent, entirely a 'soap and water' minimalist, and famously, wonderfully clumsy. Ultimately, she is just a proud mum and educator who embraces her inner nerd, loves what she does, and is incredibly grateful for the family team that helped her prove it's never too late to keep learning! She hopes that with all that she has done throughout her life she inspires her son to realise that it is never too late to chase your dreams and that success, no matter what it is you're trying to achieve, is only dependent on yourself and on how much you believe in yourself. Wow Mrs. Krissie.... Let this be a lesson to us all!

Ms. Anne Marie Sant

I truly wanted to include Ms.Anne Marie in my 40 before 40 list because I witnessed first hand how her journey in speech and language therapy provided a voice to the children who needed it most. Met & worked with Ms.Anne Marie Sant one summer and is now a speech and language pathologist with a deep passion for helping children in finding their voice—whether that means using verbal or augmentative and alternative means of communication. All this takes me back to Malguzzi's 100 languages of play Reggio Emilia inspired ways on how children can express themselves and above all communicate.

Ms. Anne Marie describes how communication is not a one-size-fits-all matter and how her work advocates that every child deserves a way to be understood and to express themselves. Her practical work is so professional that it includes a rights based approach, ultimately creating various paths for communication to take place more so than just simply expressing wants and needs. She discusses about the importanceof building relationships, sharing experiences, making choices, and having a voice. That there hits home... having a voice! When a voice is more than just vocal cords working to produce sounds into letters, words, sentences, paragraphs and dialogue. Unfortunately this concept is yet so misunderstood and that is why Ms. Sant's advocacy is impressive.

Since a young age she wanted to work in healthcare, and with children. As someone who enjoys connecting with people, speech and language therapy felt like the perfect combination of science, healthcare, and meaningful human interaction. It allows her to build relationships while helping children develop one of life's most important skill—the ability to communicate. Communication leads to collaboration, which leads to growth, expanding knowledge and above all feel wholesome. Ms. Sant's special interests are focused around Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). She is actively involved in an AAC team where they assess, implement, and support communication systems tailored to each child’s needs. This can range from high-tech communication devices to low-tech tools, and personalised strategies that empower children to express themselves independently and confidently. Her strategies are versatile, always evolving and above all motivational for the child and us adults too.

Furthermore, Ms.Anne Marie also forms part of the Key Word Sign (KWS) team (KWS is a type of AAC). In this role, they work within childcare settings to introduce and implement the key word signing system, aiming to support early communication. By embedding KWS into everyday routines, their aim is to give even the youngest children an accessible ways to communicate before verbal language fully develops.Oh signing.... it has been on my bucket list for sometime too! Got to give this a go myself right?

Ms. Anne Marie describes how its often the simplest moments that have had the biggest impact in her career, such as hearing a child say their first word, watching them call for "Mum" for the very first time, seeing the joy on their face when a story finally makes sense, hearing a child proudly say, "I am gifted," despite moments of disfluency, or witnessing them asking for help to get what they want or need. Give me a second until I dry that tear drop off my cheek, but seriously do you see why I had to include Ms. Sant on my 40 before 40 now?Ms. Sant states that for her, at times, the greatest reward comes in the form of a spontaneous hug, no spoken language, just a hug—a simple reminder that connection, and being heard can change a child's world—these moments remind her why she chose this profession and I believe many of us can relate.

Her academic background has also shaped her clinical perspective. She hold a Master’s degree in Management with a focus on International Health Management and Leadership from the University of Sheffield, and her thesis was later developed into a publication in the International Journal of Communication Disorders. Her undergraduate work was also published and explored children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and whether reluctance to communicate in Maltese is a fact or a myth—an experience that further deepened her interest in language, identity, and access to communication.

What continues to drive her is simple. Like me, Ms.Ann Marie states that she loves this job as it is far more than just a profession. She feels privileged to watch children discover that they have a voice, whatever form that voice may take, something that is so often taken for granted and I am all here to celebrate Ms. Sant's vision as she continues to motivate those around her.... including me.

These three beautiful women prove how hard work, resilience and dedication takes time, patience and above all commitment to reach big dreams. They all believed, conquered while still push through with all might againstall odds. Women like Dr. Baldacchino, Mrs. Gouder and Ms. Sant teach me how wonderful it is to look deeper than the surface level, how my own passions and dreams can flourish into bigger relationships and even better collaborations. I am honestly honoured to have been given a chance to share with you the journey of these three magnificent trio and I know you too will find their powerful stories inspiring to regenerate that passion we may have lost at the end of a heavy scholastic year.

Thanks to the inspring people around me I have so far reached 22 out of my 40 target. My list has yet more individuals to come which are as equally inspirational as my previous ones. Why do this? Because I truly believe we need more empowerment, more positive stories and above all more ways how we can ignite that passion we may be losing at one point or another. Maybe one of these individuals spark that fire we may need. Let's keep the ball rolling and I look forward in sharing more with you the stories, the journey and the inspring ways other individuals have inspired me and continue to do so!