New Adventure

  I’m so excited that I finally get to share this news with everyone!  For the past ten years, I have been teaching for Wooster City Schools.  I have enjoyed this time and have grown and learned so much about myself, education, and life in general.  However, throughout the past ten years, I have become involved in more adaptive events and communities that has changed and fueled my passion for working with others with spinal cord injuries.

 

As many of you know, if you know me personally, this past fall, I applied for a position at MetroHealth as a Research Assistant for a grant that is set to improve the quality of life of those with spinal cord injuries.  Because of the qualifications needed for this position, a specific research certification, I was not passed on to the interview part of the application process.  I was devastated.  I wanted this position so badly.  I wanted to be working with spinal cord injuries sooner than later, and I was crushed.  But, I had faith that this just was not the right opportunity or the right time for me.  Although I still did not understand it and I was hurt, I trusted that it was not right for me.  

 

I kept in contact with my contact and what-would-be supervisor about different opportunities, and it paid off!  Late April, I got word, from this contact, that MetroHealth posted another Research Assistant position for the same grant, and this contact strongly urged me to apply for it.  She stated that they wrote the posting differently, and did not require the specific research certification that I was missing to be pushed through.  So, of course I took her suggestion and applied for the position as soon as I could.  

 

This is where things get really exciting!

 

A day or two passed, and I received an email from her telling me that she was given the “go-ahead” to interview me.  So, we set up a time and date for an interview, and a day later, she had to cancel on me, and said, “I really don’t think I need to interview you, so just be on the lookout for the next step from the HR department.”  I was assuming that HR would want to interview me before offering the position to the candidate they felt was best for the job.  A week later, I received an email from HR with a few forms to fill out.  Naturally, I filled them out and sent them back as quickly (and accurately) as I could.  

 

Not long after that, I was on the phone with HR and was being OFFERED THE POSITION!!  I was so excited!  FINALLY, my hard work and networking was paying off!  During this conversation, we set up my appointment for my health screening and completing some paperwork.  The struggle was real in obtaining my official offer letter, so it took awhile for me to be able to tell Wooster City Schools about this new opportunity.  But, the letter came, and I have officially resigned as an Intervention Specialist at Boys’ Village School, as a part of Wooster City Schools, which is why I feel I can now share this news!

 

I am very excited about working on this grant.  I have grown very passionate about helping others in similar situations that I’m in, and this new job will allow me to work in that passion.  I was validated in trusting that the position that I applied for in the fall was not right for me.  The timing is perfect now.  I am ending my school year, ending my contract, and am able to step away without leaving anyone high and dry.  I remained crushed by the missed opportunity for a few months.  I did not understand why I was passed on when my passion for this work is indescribable.  Now I know.  I know exactly why I did not receive the opportunity to move careers this fall.  This fall, I would of had to be released from my contract and the school district would of had to find a replacement mid-year.  Now, they will have all summer to find a new teacher.  The quote from John Lennon, “Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end,” really hits the nail on the head.  

I am very scared about this new adventure, but I am so excited.  One of my favorite quotes states that “a goal should scare you a little, and excite you a lot!”  And okay, I will admit, I am more than a little scared, but my excitement for this adventure definitely outweighs the fear.  

 

My challenge to you is this: Trust the process.  Trust that if something does not work out, there is something better coming.  Or, a similar opportunity will present itself at a better time.  And, if you need to, plaster these cheesy quotes ALL. OVER. THE. PLACE!!