I stand corrected. Tonight, Bootie (my mother) who reads my blog regularly, reminded me that my first job wage was incorrectly stated in my last posting. I had indicated that I made $3.35 as a library page when I was in 10th grade. I had forgotten that I had been paid 15 cents a basket to pick green beans prior to that. Oddly situated between hundreds of strip malls and standard suburban housing developments, I worked in a vegetable field which sold produce at a stand along Rt. 25. But this was only a one-day job. The amount of time and energy to earn enough money for the arcade and the occasional movie didn’t make it a “good return on investment”.(I also reminded my mother of my other “one-day job” including working at McDonald’s - the smell of hamburger grease in my hair was the clincher).
So, for all the jobs that I have loved before…let me ramble on…..Let me start with WTZA-TV. Hired from an internship, I began the week before graduation, and was proud (and relieved) to rent my first apartment and actually have an office (with a window!) I worked with interesting people a little older than me, and I really connected with everyone. It is here that I met one of my best friends, Marie, and of course this is where I started my relationship with Roger. After producing a television pilot, “Express Yourself” with Doug and Mike (which aired in 1992 and even was listed in the TV guide), I decided that I wanted to work in human services, and lost interest in the technical aspects of television. Basically, it wasn’t fulfilling for me to stress out over the placement of a commercial, I wanted something with social value.
I enrolled at Marist’s graduate program in Counseling and Community Psychology and left WTZA for a job in a group home (intensive/supportive apartment program) run by MHA, a mental health advocacy program. This was another one of my favorite jobs. While many people create labels for people suffering from Schizophrenia and other thought/mood disorders, I found myself interested in their talents. I still have a sculpture and several paintings that were given to me. I reunited a mother with her daughter after 15 years. I learned more about the field of counseling from my basement office on one of the worst streets in Kingston. Had this job paid more, (I was making less that $9.00 an hour), I would have stayed here forever.
Having finished graduate school (took me about 3 ½ years), I left the group home job for another one of those “one day jobs”. I was hired as a social worker at an unsecured youth detention facility for adjudicated youth. I just completed graduate school, and was eager to make a difference in the world, yet something felt terribly wrong. I heard the staff talking about riots and that I should not park my car on the property. After hearing more alarming stories from the staff, I told my supervisor that I changed my mind and walked out. Plus, they had mistakenly given me the wrong salary (it was less than what I had been told). Having left a job that I loved for this one, I felt like I had really screwed up. Now what was I to do? Shortly after I walked out, they closed down the facility for safety violations, among other things.
I used the following month to search for something really meaningful. I ended up finding a job that literally changed my life. I responded to a newspaper ad looking for someone to start an AmeriCorps program at SUNY New Paltz. The job was only part-time, but I would be making the same amount of money had I stayed at the group home full time. Plus it offered benefits, even at part-time!
When I accepted the job, I was elated….a job that actually incorporated the principles of community psychology with counseling! I literally created a program from the ground up. Starting with a few flyers, and a hastily put together brochure, I had over 100 students attend my first series of workshops. We called it the “domestic peace corps” and we provided tutoring and mentoring to at-risk youth. My role was to coordinate and create community service programs and place students at non-profits throughout the county. Later, they hired me fulltime to also assist with internship development and career counseling. Let me explicitly state that the success of this program was mainly due to the students who volunteered countless numbers of hours making a difference!!! Many fond memories!
To this day, I still don’t know what prompted me to leave this great gig, possibly a calling of some sorts, but I left this job to take one with Ulster County to coordinate a state-wide community forensics training program. (police mental health and suicide prevention in jails and police lock-ups). I loved the traveling and the challenge of bringing mental health, medical and corrections staff together to create action-plans, etc. However, when not traveling, I felt lonely and isolated in a small dark cubicle, and missed the constant interaction, idealism and intellectual curiosity that a college campus offers both staff and students. Though I met a few great people at the county, I knew it wasn’t a right fit for me. I took a significant salary cut to return back to campus….
Luckily, my colleagues welcomed me back. I worked for a while again in AmeriCorps and the career center, but had the opportunity to do more personal counseling and advising in a program called the Educational Opportunity Program. This by far is the most important role I have ever played in any kind of solution towards a social cause.
There are many barriers to education, and EOP is an integral part of bridging the gap. I really believe in its mission! Plus it afforded me the challenge of counseling at a more personal level while also teaching a college-level course.
After about three years, I became pregnant with Alan, and after about 6 months of trying a Mr. Mom/working mom arrangement, I decided to resign. This was the hardest decision ever, but I have no regrets. Being a mom has been a dream come true. Plus, I have been able to assist with growing a successful media relations business. For the first time, I am delving into the corporate world, and have had the opportunity to assist with a political campaign. It hasn’t been easy, but very rewarding. New skills learned everyday!
Well that’s my career history. Thanks to mom for inspiring this posting. If you're still with me, on a more personal level, I received another rejection letter in the mail from a Children’s book/publishing company. I’ll put it in a file, and keep trying!
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