Meet our Finalist for IAPA's Au Pair of the Year - Lena From Germany!

We are excited to announce AuPairCare Au Pair Lena from Germany has been chosen as one of three finalists in the International Au Pair Association's annual Au Pair of the Year Contest! Read her nomination essay below!

Lena came to our family in September just one week after speaking to her for the first time. She was an au pair in rematch and we were a family of 7 in desperate need of help! My husband said we are a tough assignment; 5 children, in Detroit with a stay-at-home mom. Well, Lena was here for only a week when I realized we had hit the au pair jackpot. She made the transition so effortless and exceeded our expectations; it seemed she had been here a year already. She was so comfortable in our chaos. Choosing a family in the Midwest with 5 children immediately made her a winner in my book. She confidently took the challenge head on and was nurturing yet firm, patient yet fun and spontaneous yet organized.

She confidently took the challenge head on and was nurturing yet firm, patient yet fun and spontaneous yet organized.

In the short almost 4-months she has been here, she has been a positive ray of sunshine. At just 18, she is ridiculously mature. She comes willingly with us to local festivals and parades, school events, weddings at campgrounds, work parties and our 4-year olds soccer matches. Lena has survived pitching a tent with me for a scout camp-out, a lice invasion, a weekend with the In-Laws while my husband and I snuck off to Paris and endless laundry and lunch making. She has been flexible while I traveled home for my Dad's surgery. She is crafty- I'm always coming home to Pinterest-worthy projects she has created with my pre-schooler. One thing she actually likes is the extra-curricular driving (which I can't stand) so she shuttles the kids to swim, religion, scouts and theater practices. I often find her on the floor building Legos with the boys. She gleefully attended a Pitch Perfect sing-a-long and a Broadway production of Wicked with my daughters. Her enthusiasm even extends to our black lab that she takes running.

Five kids with very different personalities and a large age gap is no easy assignment yet Lena accomplishes it with ease. We just returned from a trip to Florida with our family and, of course, Lena. She was amazing. Playing with the kids in the pool, swimming with them in the ocean, searching for sea shells, building sandcastles, applying sunscreen, cutting food, giving baths, all of this help makes for a fantastic, relaxing vacation. I wish this was more of a photo-journal entry as I am not very good with words; certainly all the pictures I already have with Lena together with the kids would speak volumes.

All this "wonderful" packed into the first 1/3rd of her assignment!  She truly is the Au Pair of the Year or as my 4 year old would say "Wena, you're the best, best, best, best, best, best au pair eva!"

- Rasmussen family, Northville, MI, USA

More information can be found by visiting IAPA's announcement page

Best of luck and congratulations Lena!