Speaker: Cassandra Shepherd, Instant Education Solutions Manager
Cassandra Shepherd: Hi. I'm Cassandra Shepherd, and I manage Instant Education Solutions Limited, a member of the Activate Education Group.
How does Instant Education Solutions show love to others?
Cassandra Shepherd: Instant's mission is "Changing lives through learning" and our team show love to others through our focus on customer service and our passion for creating learning resources that are really focused on the learner and enabling them to achieve their dreams through education.
How do you personally show love to others in your role?
Cassandra Shepherd: I love to really think about each person in my team, understand who they are, what's going on in their own lives and think about how I can use words to build up and encourage the team. Hopefully being able to trust The Holy Spirit to lead me to check in on people if they're needing a word of encouragement or just someone to listen to them to be available to my staff team. Those are some ways I love to show love to others.
Where have you seen transformation taking place?
Cassandra Shepherd: It's been a bit of a tough time economically for the education sector lately and so as a team we had been discussing some ways we could make a difference to our customers who were struggling and so we'd come up with a pricing strategy and then we got an order from a customer and they had paid the higher price. And so I rang the customer and spoke to them, offered them the new discounted pricing that we'd come up with, and this precious customer just burst into tears on the phone. She explained that it had been a really tough time. The business is in the Hawke's Bay and they'd had Cyclone Gabriel last year and she was just overwhelmed at the offer that we were making and said it would just make a significant difference to her business, which works with at risk youth, helping them have a second chance at learning. And so I was really thrilled that we just happened to make that call at the right time for this customer and that we can make a difference for her and the work that she's doing
When have you smiled, knowing God is at work?
Cassandra Shepherd: Instant is part of Activate Education Group. We are one of five entities and I've really loved that as a financially successful business we've been able to support some of the other entities like Vision, College and Achievement New Zealand, who have that touch point with students, changing lives through learning to know that we are part of that mission. And when you hear the stories from the young people, you know that we really are changing lives through learning.
What motivates you to love others?
Cassandra Shepherd: Jesus said that we would be known as His disciples by our love for others. And His love transformed my life when, as a 15 year old, I encountered Him and experienced that unconditional, just depth of the love that Jesus had for me as a person. It was a life changing experience. And I like to think that I can love others, seeing the fingerprint of God on their life, knowing that He knows them by name and has a plan and a purpose for their life, and that by loving them in a way, I'm expressing back to God the love that He had for me.
