In 30 days I will be turning 30. I’m actually really excited about turning 30 and I’ve decided to enter into this transition intentionally. For the next 30 days I will be writing a blog a day about an event, person, experience that has had a significant impact on the woman that I am today and who I am becoming.
As I neared the end of my Graduate program, I was searching for a job. I considered staying in southern California, but after a phone interview at APU that was an EPIC failure, I decided it best that I leave the state entirely (I’m kidding… well half-kidding anyway). I applied for a few jobs in Oregon, one of the schools being Pacific University.
The road to working at Pacific was a bit bumpy from the beginning. First I got a rejection letter from the College of Optometry thanking me for my interest in the Administrative Assistant position in their department but they selected someone who had more experience. HR had sent my resume to the wrong place. I called HR and they said to send it again. A couple more weeks went by and I still hadn’t heard anything. I finally called the Assistant Dean of Students, Julie who asked me to email my resume directly to her. Later that day, Pete called me and we set up a phone interview for that evening. After the interview, Pete told me that they would like to invite me to campus. Conveniently, I was flying up that weekend for an interview at Western Oregon so they booked my return ticket and the game was on.
First off, these full-day interviews that we do in higher ed where you meet with EVERYONE on campus are grueling. I had my interview at WOU on Monday and immediately drove to Forest Grove that night and had my interview Tuesday. I was about half-way through my interview when I was met with a question that was particularly…let’s say interesting. Owen (who didn’t actually work there at the time) looked at me with a stink eye and said, “How do you feel about heathens?” I paused, replaying his question in my head to see if I might have misheard him, and upon realizing that there was no mistake I responded, “excuse me?” His reply, “Well, you went to a religious college. You went to a religious grad school, you even CHOSE to MAJOR in RELIGIOUS STUDIES. Giving them the Bible is ONE way of dealing with things, but it’s NOT OURS.”
From somewhere deep within, a little voice helped me answer that question with poise and wisdom beyond me. Inside, I was in turmoil. I walked away from that job interview knowing two things. 1. That I would take the job if they offered it to me, and 2. That if THAT was their view of Christians, I couldn’t wait to change that. I made a commitment that day, that I would not be a Christian that separates myself from others who don’t have the same beliefs as me. I have a deep respect for others and I cannot shut the door on someone who I may learn something from.
I wondered, as I was moving in, what community looked like outside of the settings I had been in up until then. The two years that I worked at Pacific were unforgettable. Pete, Ryan, Kristen, Shannon and Julie were my community. My RA’s were my community. And, I’ll tell you- they did an excellent job of being my community. I lost a dear friend during my second year and it was Julie who I went to immediately for comfort. My RA’s, who I was there to support supported me! I remember just needing to go for a run the night that I found out but I didn’t want to go alone. I called one of them and 5 minutes later, there were three guys at my door.
The only thing I regret about Pacific University is leaving so soon. I wouldn’t give SPU up, but I could have stayed there a whole lot longer.
1 comment:
Glad I finally paid attention to what you were meaning in your fb status. I enjoyed your most recently post so much, I've been going back thru them all. I love your blogging style...and it's great when I "hear" your voice in it! :) Thanks for sharing!
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