Meet Chloe McMenamin, who is bring a touch of Ireland to the Applied Animal Health team, and loves getting out in nature, creating new clothing, and is particularly fond of potatoes!
What is your role?
I’m currently the newest lecturer in an Applied Animal Health team, teaching into the NZCAT and DVN course. A main part of my role is creating strong lasting connections with Unitec and veterinary clinics. I am new to this role but not new to teaching. My academic teaching career started in 2020, four weeks before our first lockdown. Even though it was stressful, I’m grateful for the vast number of skills I’ve had to learn quickly over the last two years. Ultimately it has made me a better teacher.
Meeting with nature
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work?
I love being out in nature and getting my nerd on trying to spot native flora and fauna. I’m a bit of a creative soul and can often be found trying out new creative projects, such as teaching myself to sew in lockdown and making clothing. Follow me on ‘clover creations’ on Instagram if you would like to see what I get up to.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Ireland in a small town called Monaghan. The town that I grew up in is called Clontibret, which, when I was a kid had one shop, one post office, a church, a primary school and three pubs for 172 people population.
Do you speak any other languages?
I speak a little bit of Irish, I feel a great importance in understanding my native language as a lot of Irish stories were originally told as gaeilge and the meaning does get lost in translation.
With my brothers!
Tell us a funny memory from childhood…
I have two older brothers at are amazing and incredible. However, my mother always wanted a daughter. Then I arrived my parents wrote this song about me that they would make my brother sing. You can imagine my brothers weren’t very impressed.
The song goes as follows:
There is a girl called Chloe Mary Anne,
She lives six miles from Monaghan,
She’s pleasant in the morning, pleasant in the evening and around about dinner time she is even stevens.
Blonde hair, blue eyes, two little teeth are peeping,
Ten fingers, ten toes, shiny skin and a button nose.
And a big smile that would make your heart flutter twice.
She Chloe Mary Anne the girl who lives six miles from Monaghan.
What is your favourite movie?
My favourite movie/documentary is Older than Ireland, you can watch it on TVNZ. If you would like your heart strings pulled by some lovely stories of older Irish people I would highly recommend.
Tell us an achievement that you’re proud of.
In 2019 I was a ‘Tough Guy and Gal’ champion for Tamaki Makaurau and went on to represent Tamaki Makaurau in the finals. Since Covid has put a halt to events I haven’t competed since.
Best concert you’ve ever been to?
My first ever concert was with my dad when I was eleven years old – an AC/DC concert.
The funniest part of that concert was that myself and my dad had packed our lunch and being us, we began to offer cookies to the crowd around us. Next thing we know these people that had pit passes came up to us and said they were ‘too scared’ to go to the pit but didn’t want to waste the passes so offered them to us! So there goes my eleven-year-old self and my dad through the densest crowd that you could imagine getting into the pit where I’m not joking, people were looking bloody in there from head banging too hard and jumping into each other.
We did end up having to stay off to the side, but we were still close enough to see the sweat drip from Angus Young’s face. Such a good experience.
What’s your favourite food?
Anything with potatoes in it.