Base Salary
Writing about my $26,000 salary triggered a memory. Or maybe I’m still not over it. At Andersen, we sat in cubicles, in pairs. It was an odd arrangement because it put two people in one cube. Yes, we had our …
No Regrets
I left Minnesota and the financial aid office behind when I accepted an internship, followed by a full-time position at Arthur Andersen in Chicagoland. The job was a prize. Yes, because it was a plum position for an instructional design …
Interlude: Jule Q&A
Hard Times & Hope podcast, episode 21 In this episode, instead of an interview with someone about a hard time, I answer questions people have asked over the last nine months. Why did you start a podcast? Why did you …
“My Son Needs Your Help”
I loved May in the financial aid office, not just for the weather that didn’t yet require air conditioning the building didn’t have, but because it was the slowest month of the year. The school’s fiscal year was July through …
That’s Not How We Do Things, plus a Freebie!
I had been a financial aid counselor for only a few months when the manager of the bullpen had a disagreement with his boss and stormed out of the office, never to return. After three days, a colleague and I …
Nadine: Becoming the doctor she always dreamed of being
Hard Times & Hope podcast, episode 20 Nadine Kelly pursued the path of high achievement, excelling in school, medical school, and pathology residency, followed by additional study to become a cytopathologist. However, Nadine’s body was trying to talk to her. …
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“We Need a Short-Term Loan”
Because my goal was to get promoted from secretary to financial aid counselor, I decided to dress like what I wanted to be, instead of what I was. Only secretaries wore sweaters. The sweaters had to go. After I’d saved …
Nothing For Us Without Us
I started this series to counterweight how my brain tends to work, ruminating over failures and forgetting successes. Because last week’s post reminded me of an important lesson learned in that role, I’d like to go there. ‘Susan’ and I …
Robyn: It wasn’t her fault but it shaped her self-perception anyway
Hard Times & Hope podcast, episode 19. When Robyn Rose was ten or twelve years old, through no fault of her own, something happened that shouldn’t have. At that age, our minds don’t know what to think. Robyn’s mind decided …
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Everybody Has a Worry Bottle
The first year I worked at the University of Minnesota, I didn’t know what program I wanted to enroll in, but I did want to take advantage of free classes. I took drawing, and ceramics, and graphic design, and weaving. …