Few people can manage their own children with grace and finesse,
and even fewer can manage the children of others. But such is the
case with local woman Christy Trevino, who forsook the conventional
workplace in favor of a career she says is infinitely more
rewarding.
Few people can manage their own children with grace and finesse, and even fewer can manage the children of others. But such is the case with local woman Christy Trevino, who forsook the conventional workplace in favor of a career she says is infinitely more rewarding.
“I just feel blessed to be able to work with these children,” she said.
Trevino, 27, was born and raised in San Jose. But even as a girl, she says, she enjoyed taking trips to the country with her father and visiting her aunt’s ranch. So when she and her then-boyfriend Tom were married five years ago, moving to Hollister seemed a natural fit.
“I always knew I wanted to live somewhere where I could have a horse,” she said.
Most of Trevino’s career, she says, was spent working in purchasing for an electronics manufacturing firm. But when she became pregnant with her daughter Abigail, who is now 8 months old, she knew it was time to start looking for a change.
“I loved my job, I really did,” she said. “But I wanted to be able to stay home for her.”
In high school and college afterwards, Trevino had dabbled in early childhood education, and enjoyed it, but was never sure if it might one day make a viable career path.
“I think everyone does that when they’re a kid,” she said. “It’s easy to say ‘Gee, I like this,’ but it’s harder to find out if you can really make a living doing it.”
Trevino eventually decided that she wanted to at least find out if she could make it as a child-care provider and while she was still pregnant began the fairly arduous process of becoming licensed with the county.
“It’s a lot of paperwork, and you have to go through an extensive background check, with I think the FBI,” she said. “You take some classes too, but I enjoy that. The more you know about your field, the better you are.”
In November, Trevino officially opened Sunny Skies Child Care, but the going was a little tough at first.
“I didn’t know if it was going to work out, I even went back to my old job for three days,” she said. “But my parents are these wonderful people, and they called all their friends because they just wouldn’t let me go out of business. I got two calls from those referrals and then I said ‘It’s meant to be.”
Right now, Trevino is responsible for four children every day, and is expecting more in the summer when school gets out. Her day begins at 5:30am, getting diapers ready, prepping the day’s meals and making sure her home is clean and sanitized. The first children arrive at 7:00am, and from then on it’s a flurry of feedings, activities and naptimes until the last parent comes to pick up their child.
“You have to think about things you never have before,” she said. “I’ve always been a clean person, but now everything has to be spotless, and child-proof – all that sort of stuff.”
In the future, Trevino hopes to finish her bachelor’s in early childhood development and stay in the field.
“This is something I want to stay in for a very, very long time,” she said. “It’s good for me, and good for my family. I finally found something that really fits.”
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
ds****@fr***********.com
