From Tea Parties and Maseratis to Unemployment and Snow Storms
"You know the one that takes you to the places, where all the veins meet"
by: Brad Weisberg
It's hard to believe that it's been over a year since I technically graduated college. After four long and very different years, it was finally time for me to walk the line. My post undergraduate experience has been anything but dull. We all must put in our fair share of cleaning the dishes and taking out the trash, until we can become a gatekeeper. Following my graduation from the University of North Carolina, I took advantage of my summer (when not enrolled in continuing education courses at a local university and Carolina Online) by traveling to new parts of the country, and in turn making the major decision to move to Boston, MA to begin my next leg of this journey, that some call life.
This Place Smells Nothing Like Beans Mid September marked the beginning of my excursion to Boston. Prior to the decision, I spent my summer applying to jobs all over the country, from Los Angeles, CA to Atlanta, GA. Having to choose between an internship as a Development and Communications Intern with City Year and an Event Production, Outreach and Recruitment Intern with Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Boston, I went for my passion and chose the health side of the nonprofit world. I've always been one to over excel, and I was seeking more than a 25-30 hour internship. If I had to work in retail, it had to be in an area that I was knowledgeable and that I could benefit from. Keeping those two elements in mind, I applied for part-time and seasonal retail positions at the local Apple Stores, SonyStyle, Niketown Boston, local consumer electronic stores, and other storefronts that featured an item or product line that was appealing to me. Failing to even land a part-time position after managing my own online consumer electronic store and four painful years of education, I was not ready to give up. Life is not about what you know anymore, it is completely linked to who you know. While universities offer competitive academics, they offer something much more; this in turn, separates the Ivies from the rest. Alumni networks are major, especially in a job market that is built on relationships and not skills. Though, I already got sidetracked. Utilizing a connection, I was able to land another internship, with one of the local event marketing and integrated marketing firms.
Challenging myself with the diverse assignments delegated to me by my internship coordinators only kept me so busy. I found myself continuously checking my cellular phone and searching databases for future opportunities. I was naive and desperate, willing to take any job that came my way. As someone who had been incredibly active in Jewish life on college campuses, I applied and interviewed for multiple positions with Jewish organizations, such as Hillel, American Jewish Committee, The David Project, Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity, and the list goes on. One thing was consistent for each, that the passion wasn't evident in my half hour and hour long interviews, with uninterested HR managers and managing directors. Each interview, I felt like a number and that none of these organizations or at least the individuals, cared about my own professional development.I could not see myself working for an organization like that, and decided to concentrate my search in another area.
Health, what a shocker. Spending hours applying to positions with renowned hospitals such as Massachusetts General, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston's Children, and Brigham & Womens. Shockingly, I received numerous interview offers and made it through the second round twice. Though, I always fell short on one end of the spectrum; losing out to local Bostonians (Tuft graduates and what not).
Trying to distract myself from this sham of a job market, I immersed myself in all that Boston had to offer. Quickly, I found a new love for New England. To this day, New England Clam Chowder remain among one of the favorite soups and New England treats. Soaking in all of the history that Boston had to offer; spending nights at Faneuil Hall, in the North End, and on Newbury Street, I was highly entertained and adapted the Bostonian lifestyle. Having a girlfriend at the time attending school in New Hampshire, I was able to catch a glimpse of the Ivy league lifestyle, which I discovered to be unattractive and distasteful. Aside from the old world charm of Hanover, I found nothing else attractive about the "Big D" (get your mind out of the gutter). The small town was incredibly boring. I do not who would ever want to sacrifice the best years of their life to attend such a university, in such a place.
After five months of trying my luck with the Irish, I made the ultimate decision and decided to move back home to Florida, where room and board was free and opportunities for inexperienced, recent college graduates were less plentiful and more attainable. Before boarding the plane back to the Sunshine State, I already had managed to advance to a round two interview with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Back to the Land of Superficiality and the Brain Drain That plane ride was painful. I spent the whole two and half hours swallowing my future. The people I despised, the lifestyle that was built on pure material status and not intelligence, was only a few hours away. Towards the end of my adolescence, I knew that Florida was not the place for me, or a place that I would want to raise a family. Though, I had to bite my lip and take the necessary steps to begin my future. A few days later, I had my final round interview with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. From the nods of the heads to the reassured responses, I was fairly confident that I would be their future Special Events Coordinator. Low and behold, those dreams were crushed when I learned of my rejection, losing out to an Intern and coming in a close second. It was back to LinkedIn; expanding my professional network, and to never ending nights of tedious and strategic job searching on Idealist, Opportunity Knocks, Indeed, and the five thousand other online employment databases. Even though I told myself that the Jewish world was not for me, I still decided to apply for a Jewish Student Life Coordinator at our local Hillel. Shortly after, I accepted the truth of the matter and decided that I was done with accepting any opportunity, and focused strictly on health organizations. It wasn't too long after, that I received an offer with a smaller health nonprofit, closely linked to cancer, which spoke to me personally. Without a second thought, I accepted, and needless to say, was extremely excited for my new position as Development Associate. Though, it wasn't too long after that I found myself unhappy and ready for the next thing in life. Realizing that life is built on more than your employment, I found myself losing intelligence and reliving my child and teen years. I was ready to get out of the bubble once again.
About three and half months in, I began my search again. Connecting with Carolina alumni and professionals who worked for organizations and health agencies that I wished to seek employment with, I was planning my move. Conflicted to where I wanted to go, I narrowed it down to Atlanta and Washington, DC. Atlanta has always been a top choice, partly due to Emory University and their renowned public health programs at the affiliated Rollin's School of Public Health. On the flip side, Washington D.C. is the epicenter for nonprofit organizations, and Johns Hopkins is not too far away. D.C. it is! After finalizing my plan, I was ready to hand over my letter to my boss. Prior to packing up my life, I had the opportunity to have a phone interview with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
The Longest Train Ride, Entering the Land of Opportunity, and Setting Up My Future Instead of flying like a normal person, my family chose the more challenging adventure to Washington. Now this wasn't my first time on the auto train, though for some reason it felt like the longest. Knowing that my future was loamy and only days away, the 12 hour train ride felt like an engagement speech. By the time I knew it, it was time to step on the platform and glide into the future. My interview with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society was anything what I pictured. I could never see myself working at this particular chapter; I felt detached from the mission the moment I walked into the office. The interview was painful. I felt like I would've been working with people who were not nearly as passionate about the fight to end leukemia and lymphoma. Gladly, I did not receive a call back and was not at all upset. D.C. and the surrounding areas are is so massive, that the opportunities are endless.
For the next two weeks, I lived out of a hotel room in Alexandria, VA. Definitely not one of the more glamorous episodes from my D.C. adventure so far, but at least it wasn't Bates Motels. Day after day, I spent hours interviewing with numerous nonprofit organizations in the area, and desperately tried my luck at some staffing agencies. Naive and dumb founded, I made the mistake of exploring careers in all areas of nonprofit; from education to poverty/homelessness to Jewish life (again, what a meshuganah) and landed in health (thank G-d).
If I learned anything these past few years, it's that everything takes time. Not all of us are born with a silver spoon in our mouth, connected to a broad base of influential and power people; some of us have to pour our blood, sweat and tears into everything we attack in life. While interviewing for numerous health nonprofit organization, communication/marketing and public relation firms focused on the healthcare, and hospitals in the area, I decided to broaden my skill set and strengthen my resume. For two months, I served as an Special Events Intern with theatreWashington. Having experience in producing walks and smaller functions for charitable causes, I never had the chance to organize a large gala. Shortly after finishing my internship, I received a call about a temporary position with a large nonprofit organization in DC. With the need for money to survive in this expensive megatropolis and the motive to expand my professional network, I decided to accept.
Phone calls and opportunities come when you least expect them. While planning conferences and conventions for the American Institute of Architects, the people I wanted to hear from managed to connect with me. Within a matter of weeks, I had back to back interviews with various nonprofit health brands (both large and small), the Children's Hospital Foundation, and St. Jude's/ ALSAC. Advancing one step at a time with each of these organizations, offers started rolling in. All of the hard work, my overly expensive education and degree from UNC, and months of being the janitor, was beginning to pay off. After a careful evaluation, I decided to take a position with the American Heart Association and the rest is history.
"Some dreams keep on gettin' better, gotta' keep believing' if you wanna know for sure" It's been about eight months since I decided to take the gamble; not the first time in my life. Considering the statistic that it takes most people ten months to find permanent employment in Washington, DC, I feel like I've beaten the odds and that my future is bright. If you ask me where I'll be in two years, I could not answer that question. Hell, I don't know where I'll be in one year. I'm not one to sit around, I was born a chaser and will continue to chase after whatever comes my way. D.C. has been a great place to me so far. I've met so many amazing people, work for an amazing organization, and witnessed some epic moments, such as a presidential inauguration. Though, I must say that there are still plenty of personal and collective conflicts that lie ahead, that I continue to battle day in and day out. Realizing that I'm still low man on the totem pole is hard to swallow at times. We become wiser as we get older. People say that we stop learning at a certain age, but I think there are lessons to learn everyday, even when we're lying on our death bed. Followers, never give up on your dreams and if your dreams happen to change, don't question your doubts. Chase and live life!
Moving to and living in a foreign city is not meant for everyone. You must have a certain personality and be willing to take initiative to seek out opportunities to meet people; putting yourself out there, and not being afraid to look outside of your comfort zone. Growing up, most of my friends came from very similar backgrounds; mostly all Jewish and came from upper-middle and upper class families. If I had to describe my immediate friend group in DC, I would say that we were a very diverse group, much like a blended fraternity or sorority. Each of us came from completely different backgrounds, had different interests, yet still shared a common connection that allowed us to strengthen our bond. While this may sound hypocritical, if you're someone like me who is easily frustrated by disconnection, then DC (any big city really) might not be for you. Described as one of the most transient cities, D.C. definitely left me in tears at times. In my two years, I've said goodbye to friends, who decided to take their talents to New York and Boston. I've never been one to stay tied down to one group or to have an exorbitant number of friends; I've definitely made some great friends here, who I hope to stay in touch with for many years (if not a lifetime).
Aside from brushing up on my knowledge in a social context, living in a city that is the hotbed for the nonprofit sector, I was able to pursue my passion after accepting an offer with one of the most recognizable nonprofit health brands in the country. Being able to follow my dream (at the time) of being an event planning professional for a nonprofit health organization, was both a blessing and an eye opening experience for me. We learn a lot about ourselves when we least expect it; an important lesson was learned on the job. Doing something as an extracurricular and volunteer activity has a different value than when you're performing it as a means of survival. I've always been passionate about raising awareness in the community and procuring funds for research for critical health issues. After being the middle-man, indirectly implementing change in the community and world, I'm ready, willing, and will be fully able (after I receive my MPH and complete my formal training in the field) to take the challenge, and work on designing health programs for children in developing countries, and interact directly with these communities as I strive to improve the overall health of children in low-resourced and low-income areas.
Living in Washington, DC, like anything in life, has been a large learning experience for me. Outside of college, it was the true test for me to survive on my own; forcing me to enter the gates of adulthood, and be a mature and financially responsible individual. I was afforded many wonderful opportunities in this city, able to build friendships and make the acquaintance with many invaluable figures, and most importantly I was stretched, bent, and perfectly molded into a stronger and more experienced individual; experience in both a professional and social context. Thank you to everyone who has played an instrumental role in my adventure in DC these past two years. I wish each and every one of you a life filled with nothing but success, health and happiness. Stay in touch, and always know that you have a home in New Orleans. Adieu!
