Many moons ago I graduated from a little school called Springfield High School. Before, I might be getting ahead of myself. You see, during my senior year I was apart of one of the best experiences I have ever been on. I, along with 9 of my classmates, went on a trip to Washington D.C. with the Close Up Foundation. During this amazing week, we ventured to the Capitol building, Arlington Cemetery, the Kennedy Center, war memorials, and so much more. I was so influenced by this week in DC, along with my love for "The West Wing" that I decided to go to Temple University for Strategic Communication (specifically Public Relations, and pick up a minor in Political Science).
Well, I gave up that major rather quickly, and decided to study Organizational Leadership (still under the Strategic Communication department), and I changed my minor to Adult and Organizational Development. I learned that I have a love for conflict management, public speaking, and training. I picked up a job in the Office of Student Conduct for the Conflict Education Resource Team (CERT). CERT was my life during my senior year. I loved doing coachings, mediations, workshops, trainings. I loved my boss, my peers (for the most part), and all of our office work. It was my dream job, and introduced me to the world of higher education administration.
But just like everything else in my life, I grew tired of it. My senior capstone was taken with an amazing professor who reintroduced me to the world of politics and advocacy. Convinced, once again, that I could become a lobbyist or senatorial aid, I searched for jobs in Washington D.C. It was at that point that I remember my amazing experience in high school with the Close Up Foundation, and well, one thing led to another, and I am now a Program Instructor for America's largest educational non-profit organization.
I start in January, but I wanted to document my adventure starting with leaving all that I know behind to pursue my dream job as a Program Instructor. With the notification of my new job, I left my job at CERT with a very tearful goodbye to all of my good friends, and I plan to continue my meaningful work at Target until mid-December.
My unofficial first step: discovering the neighborhoods of D.C. and picking a place to live. Should I go for an apartment by myself or rent a room in an already established house?
