On April 16th, with the pep talk from Emily on my mind, I headed out to the 2013 Portland Professional Educator Fair at the Oregon Convention Center. I arrived early and got my booklet, only to be completely overwhelmed. There was an astounding turn out for the fair, not only educators, but also districts.
I watched as other educators sat in groups and mapped out their attack plan for the day and had no idea what to do myself. I found a ledge to sit on and opened the booklet. There were lists and lists inside and I had no idea how to utilize the book. I started out marking all the booths who were looking for K-5 teachers and quickly decided that was a waste of time. At this point they had opened the doors and I was afraid of being left behind. I flipped through the book until I found the section that listed the districts that were looking for K-3 and decided to approach it much like I would the Health Expo or the Women's Show. I started at one end and intended to work my way around.
The first stop was Yupik, Alaska. The women there was very friendly and promptly asked for my resume. I figured this might be an indicator of my luck for the day. I continued down the line, comparing the school/district listed to my book. I talked to the American school in Kuwait, and even got a call from them a couple of weeks later. I talked to a district in Idaho and Alief Independent School District in Texas, where I was asked to come back on Wednesday to interview. After talking with an amazingly nice woman at the Alief I made a stop at an empty table to regroup. This allowed me a minute to look at the table next to me without actually engaging the recruiters at the table. They were from the Glenelg School of Abu Dhabi (GSAD) and weren't listed in my book. I actually was walking past them when something stopped me. I have no idea what it was that prompted me to backpedal and talk with them. After a brief conversation they asked if they could see my resume. After reviewing it they asked if I would be willing to interview later in the day. I agreed and set my alarm so that I could continue making my connections with the other districts.
I talked to multiple districts in Arizona, Washington and Oregon. When 12:30 rolled around I made my way to the room where GSAD was conducting interviews and sat down with Laura. It was a great interview and I walked away thinking, "Wow, this could really happen."
A couple of hours later I received a text message from Laura asking me to stop by the booth at 3:30 to talk with Angela, that they wanted to offer me a contract. To say that I was shocked is a gross understatement. I stopped by and they asked if I could come back the next day, since I had two interviews set up I said it was no problem. I picked up my contract on Wednesday and was told that I needed to have my answer in by Sunday.
On my way home I crunched numbers, and thought about the opportunity. I started thinking about all the possibilities. The fact that this school wanted me enough to offer me a contract within hours of meeting me.
I think I'm taking my cues from Dad right now. He's pretty much in denial, and for me that works. I have so much to do and I want to enjoy my time left here with my friends and family. I guess this is where I should mention that my contract is for three years. I know that this is the right path for me. I know it all the way to my toes! I'll post again about my process and where I'll be... This is just the start of my amazing adventure!
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