SHSS Alumnae Link - Sioned Miles
Welcome to SHSS Alumnae Link!
This is where we connect with past pupils and find out what they’re up to now.
This week we linked with Sioned Miles who graduated in 2015.
Name and position:
Sioned Miles
Lives:
Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA.
Best memory of Sacred Heart:
So many. My favourite one is probably back in 4th year when we went up to Dublin for the YSI thing (I don't remember the name). We went up to showcase our project, ended up making it to the bigger competition and won! Honestly I thought we were just going to showcase it and then watch everyone else but it was pretty cool when we managed to win. I also loved going on choir trips with my Music class and Ms. Whyte, they were always so much fun, I wish I had a video of some of the songs we did to look back on them. I was a terrible singer (still am) but the choir as a whole was pretty great!
Just being with my friends all day every day was amazing, something I miss a lot. No one tells you how difficult it is to make long term friends when you’re an adult.
What were your favourite classes?
I loved Music, Ms. Whyte was such a great teacher and had all the time in the world for questions and if we were stuck on anything. I quit piano after school because I was fed up with playing but started again recently and remember all the songs by heart that I did for my Leaving Cert. I still have a huge love for music and regularly listen to classical which I don’t think I’d be doing if it wasn’t for Ms. Whyte.
Geography with Mr. Daly was always a laugh and French with Ms. Bell (even though I wasn’t great at French) I loved, especially when we watched Amélie.
Tell us about your career progression to date:
I haven’t done too much, tried college for a year but I didn’t get the course I wanted so I felt like I was wasting my time. Spent a year in Dublin working and still felt like I needed to do more so I moved to America in 2017 where I started working in the restaurant industry. Now I work at The Broadmoor which is the longest running five star five diamond hotel in America. It’s a massive property which has fourteen dining outlets, I’ve worked at ten of them. I managed to make it up to the lead bar supervisor at the main Hotel Bar which I loved but then Covid hit. So after that I had to go back down to bartending because weirdly you make more money doing that and that’s what I’ve been doing for the last few years. Now I work at our ‘British pub’ called The Golden Bee. The Americans love that they have an Irish bartender and always ask me about home. They also have a piano player every night and on Fridays and Saturdays he gets me to play a few songs for the guests which is terrifying but I secretly love it.
I also do private bartending gigs for the golf club members when they have parties and events. I’ve managed to meet some really interesting people through that and seeing the mansions they live in is fascinating. I'm actually about to do one for an Irish lady from Sligo and her husband who I’ve become friends with recently.
If you weren’t in the job you have, what would you be doing?
Honestly it’s not much but I’d love to work at a flower shop. I always have bouquets that I make myself at home and I absolutely love doing it. Or travel, I have a four year old son now and I’d love to be able to take him around the world. After beating a brain tumour (twice) I’d love a simple, relaxed life.
Advice you would give your teenage self:
BOYS DON’T MATTER. I tell all the teenage girls I know to not waste their time with guys, wait until you’re older and enjoy your friends and family while you can.
Huge thanks to Sioned for taking the time to answer our questions!
See you soon for the next instalment of SHSS Alumnae Link!
Favourite quote or motto? At work I always say “If it won’t matter in ten years it doesn’t matter now”. I like to go by that outside of work too!
I do have another one (which you might not want to put on here) that my friend told me when I started radiation at the beginning of the year. I was dreading the thought of losing my hair and I was really upset about it and I was talking to one of my friends and he said “pretty hair is useless on a dead person Sioned”. It totally changed my outlook and it was the one thing that kept me positive throughout the whole treatment. I like to use it if I’m not feeling super confident about myself and the way I look and it always helps, it doesn’t really matter how you look, what matters is how you feel.
What is your hidden talent? Jeepers, I’m not sure. It’s not really hidden but I’m pretty decent at playing the piano, more so than when I was in school because I actually enjoy it now. And the guests at work get a right shock when they see their bartender playing ‘Clair de Lune’.
