School

Life is interesting, isn't it? You see, when it comes to my education and career, I kind of put the cart before the horse in terms of what I want to do and how to get there, but that shouldn't be surprising to anyone. After all, what 18-year-old really knows what they want to do with the rest of their life?!? Not many. I promise. So I started out a little slower back in the day and now I'm back-tracking a little bit in order to finish a degree for what it is that I want to do

I grew up in a lovely home and I had a great family...until they decided to torture me at the ripe age of 15 by sending me out to get a job. How cruel!! ;) So I worked (A. Lot.) for the high school years of my life at the local grocery store. I decided that I wasn't too keen on customer service work, but it did lead to my next job which was in customer service at Kohl's Department Store. This is where I worked while I went to a local community college to get my Associate's degree in Administrative Assitant work. I really had NO idea what I wanted to do for a career, but I knew that I didn't mind office work, so I went to school for that.

Right after finishing my degree (and I mean right after), I got a job as an Administrative Assitant with the Chamber of Commerce. That ended my time behind the counter of a retail business. Now, it was customer service in an office setting. I was moving up! :) After half a year at that job, I started to feel a serious itch to move and to explore the world. So, I decided that I was going to move to Seattle and I started planning to do so. Three months into planning, and just TWO months before I was to move, I knew that going to Seattle was NOT the thing to do, so I just sat on the idea. Shortly thereafter, I made the decision to settle where I currently am and I've been here since.

I moved here and immediately got a job with the local University as an Office Assistant. After three years in that job, I was given an increase in title, and a year after that, I accepted a job offer with the department that I currently work for. And this is where I discovered what I wanted to do with my life.

This job didn't start out with the majority of the duties I do right now...only about half of it was. The rest has been added to my workload during the time that I've been there, and one of those items is advising students with their academic careers. I love it! I love knowing that I have helped a student figure out their schedule and helped in some of their career decisions and I just love everything that goes into working with the students during their time at the University. I always joke around that, "Their drama is my drama!" and that is certainly what it is, sometimes. But I really do love my job and I feel blessed because I honestly don't know if many people really, truly feel that way about their job.

Anyway, one of the perks of where I work is that they pay for schooling and so I've been taking advantage of that for quite awhile now. I'm to the point where I finally became a senior in my bachelor's degree program (in Communications) and if I keep going to school part-time while continuing to work full-time, I figure that I can graduate with a bachelor's degree in December 2012. :) People laugh at me when I say that because it seems like such a long time away, but it's a date and I'm steadily going to keep working toward it...unless I'm directed to head in a different direction OR to move to another place. I have to admit, though, that being this far along in the program...well, I just want to hang in there and FINISH! :o)

So, that's what occupies my time most of the year. I do work 40 hours a week at work (60 hours/week during advising weeks and the first weeks of school) and while it's hard sometimes, it's not impossible. I sometimes get to feeling blue because I have to choose...a social life or school and right now, school is the winner. It has to be. I still get out, socially, once in awhile, but not as often as I'd like to and that can be kind of hard sometimes. But this is how things have played out and I just have to do my best with them.

I may have started out rather clueless and just looking for a big adventure in life, but I managed to include some education in the journey and it helped me to get the jobs that have brought me to the place where I am today. I don't have any intention (voluntarily, at this point) to find another job in this field and to move on, but part of considering the move to be back closer to family AND to still stay in this field of work is to consider what I need to do educationally. Most jobs that do what I do require a Master's degree. My boss has trusted me to do that kind of work without the degree and for that, I'm very fortunate! But if I'm going to stay in this line of work, I do need to have something other than an Associate's degree. So, that's the other reason that I keep diligently working on my degree. I really don't know if I'll ever go far enough and actually complete my Master's, but it is an important goal to me to finish my Bachelor's and so that's what I will keep working toward. :)

So, in the future, if you call me or e-mail me and I'm busy or don't answer for awhile...don't take it personally. I'm more than likely immersed in textbooks. :)