As a reader of this blog, you may know that in the spring of 2010, I studied abroad in England. What you may not remember is that I traveled through a program provider called EuroLearn, which is a branch of GlobaLinks Learning Abroad. And, more recently, I wrote about receiving their Alumna of the Year Award and subsequently traveling to Vancouver, Canada for the annual NAFSA conference.
At NAFSA, I met so many incredible people--too many to mention. The connections I made were invaluable to my future and inspiring to my ambitions. Some of the people I met were big-time International Education names, such as Cynthia Banks, the CEO of GlobaLinks, and Kevin, the VP of STA Travel. But some of the others I met were perhaps lesser-known, but no less-important to the industry. Coming home from NAFSA, I went through business cards over and over to try and match them with the faces in my memory. And there was always one who stood out in particular: Susan. Susan works for University of South Carolina (USC, not to be confused with University of Southern California), one of GlobaLinks' 400+ affiliated universities. She attended the affiliate luncheon with Jenn, her director, and heard my award acceptance speech. After the luncheon, she came to the GlobaLinks booth to talk to me about the Higher Education program at USC; and as a current student in the program, she had a lot of insight. I was very intrigued, but, admittedly, did not think that much would come out of that conversation--at least not for another year or so when I would go to graduate school.
You may also remember this: that I had a "master" plan, which was to spend a year abroad after college, teaching, working, doing something (anything, really) to gain more international experience. And then, after a year, I would return to the states for graduate school, where I would get my degree in higher education, thereby making me more qualified for the various jobs in international education. As I was frantically searching overseas jobs after returning from NAFSA, I received an email from Susan--the graduate student who was so encouraging to me but I scarcely expected to hear from. Her email stopped me in my job search tracks, and I immediately signed up to take the GRE. You see, she had told me about a Graduate Assistantship that was available in the USC Study Abroad Office, and that if I applied and got accepted to the Higher Ed program, then I could be considered for the GA position. Despite my plans, I scheduled a GRE date for the following week (right before I left on the road trip), and got excited about the possibilities. However, the excitement was shortlived; several days later, I received an email that it was too late to apply for fall admission to the graduate school. I took the GRE anyway, and set off on the greatest cross-country adventure (which you have hopefully already read about).
Two weeks later, I was sitting in Barnes & Noble in Charlotte, soaking in all of the US that I had just seen, when I get a phone call from the USC Study Abroad Office. But this time, it was not Susan contacting me; it was her director. She was offering me an internship position in her office--the chance to work with them as a temporary employee rather than a graduate assistant. And, in theory, I could apply to the Higher Ed program, get accepted, and apply for the Study Abroad GA for the Spring semester. I could not have been more thrilled. I would be lying if I didn't say I had already made up my mind, but I walked back into Barnes & Noble to tell my friends the news. The same friends with whom I had been discussing, literally moments before, everything I needed to do to get ready to go teach in South Korea.
The opportunity of working in the USC Study Abroad Office was a massive one for many reasons. Not only would it give me experience in the field that is a) difficult to come by in this economy and b) difficult to be qualified for as a recent college graduate, but it also gave me a direct opportunity for graduate school. The position was impossible to turn down, and a couple of weeks later, I found myself in Columbia, SC searching for an apartment.
It is the beginning of my fourth week of work and, needless to say, I absolutely love it. I have learned more in three weeks than I ever thought I could, and the people that I work with are the best. I felt welcome the moment I stepped into the office, I am always comfortable asking questions, and I know that I am a part of a team. And this is the thing that I have found over and over with international educators; there is this camaraderie that exists between those in the field, this unspoken (or perhaps spoken) vision that brings all of us together in a common mentality. And we've all studied abroad, so we understand that aspect of one another; no one complains when I say "This one time, in London," or when Susan says "When I was in Ecuador..."
So the point of that long-winded story is to tell you that I am still continuing on my path of travel. Although I am currently residing in the United States, I am still becoming the person that I met while I was in London. I am on an exciting path, and SO excited to see all the God has for me. I am confident that I am right where he wants me to be, and expectant about His plans for the future. I never imagined that I would be here, doing exactly what I wanted to be doing, exactly on God's terms. But here I am, and I am reminded everyday of His faithfulness and provision. May you continue to trust in His perfect plan for your life, and rest in the comfort of knowing that He has one!
Love,
lvp
P.S. Check back later for more concrete details about my job. I'll let you know what I'm working on and the exciting things that I get to be a part of!
