Describe a person who inspires you in your work or studies

I'd like to talk about a woman called Nadia, who was my supervisor when I did a part-time job at a customer service centre during my second year at university. She was only about five years older than me, but she was already managing a team of around fifteen people.

I got to know her because she trained me in my first week. Honestly, I was quite nervous back then, because I had never worked in an office before and I found angry customers a bit frightening. What struck me immediately was how calm she was. Whenever someone on the phone raised their voice, she would lower hers, listen properly, and then summarise the problem back to them. Nine times out of ten, the customer calmed down within a minute.

The thing that really inspires me, though, is the way she balanced everything. She was studying for a master's degree in the evenings and looking after her mother, and yet she never seemed rushed. She kept a small notebook where she planned every day in fifteen-minute blocks, and she was very honest about saying no when she had too much on her plate.

As for how she has influenced me, I'd say in two main ways. First, I've copied her planning habit, and it has made a huge difference to my studies, especially during exam periods. Second, she taught me that being patient with people isn't a weakness; it's actually a skill you can practise. Whenever I find myself losing my temper now, I think about how Nadia would handle the situation, and it usually helps me slow down.