A Year in Review: From Teacher to PR Intern

How I Stayed Committed to My Dreams Despite the Odds Being Against Me

I’m no Cinderella but this is my story:

My last day as a teacher was single-handedly one of the most anticlimactic days of my life. As I was sitting at my desk,?a stack of letters towered over me and teary-eyed children stared at me as I carried on putting grades in the gradebook.

The day felt normal, like business as usual. I taught my lessons, stuck to my schedule, and took my students to their required destinations. I still hadn’t processed the fact that I was leaving and starting a new job in two days. A little over a week prior, I heard the fateful words I waited so long to hear: “We’ve decided to offer you the position.”

I was shocked and excited.

I’ve been rejected so many times that I was preparing for the worst. But after several “thank yous” and partial negotiation, I closed my laptop and right before I began to internally celebrate, I froze. My heart sunk to the floor. I realized that I had to leave the place I had grown to love for two years.

The Family Business

Teaching wasn’t my first choice of career. It was honestly the last. Growing up in a family of educators is beautiful but I had no desire to go into the family business. From the moment I stepped out of my first rhetoric lesson in high school, I knew I wanted to work in communications.

I loved the idea of making intentional and strategic written, visual, and oratory choices to influence someone’s behavior. It was intriguing to me. As a former theater kid and overall creative, it felt like creating art to me but in this case you could actually make money. I had no intention of deviating from this dream but life has a way of taking you down a new course.

When I first started teaching, I hated it. I lamented every day before I went to work. I hated the idea that I was doing the one job I said I was never going to do and everyone else I knew was in their field of choice. I was embarrassed to admit to people that I was a teacher, often prefacing that it was “just temporary" in every conversation. I spent my evenings job searching, reworking my resume and eventually taking a digital marketing course but to no avail. I frequently wondered why I was sent down this path but not others; and would I ever get a chance to work in my field.

After my first year of teaching, I spent the summer networking to acquire more connections in communications. I met with a few JMU alumni but one person made it clear to me that I didn’t stand a chance in public relations or marketing unless I acquired internship experience.?

Obviously, I knew that getting an internship was important but college professors always framed it to be "highly suggested" and not a requirement. After all of the internships I applied for were canceled in 2020 during the pandemic, I made it a point to create my own internship to gain experience at school.?

I pitched a marketing position at my university’s Center for Multicultural Services to manage and grow their social media platforms, connect with students and other departments, and raise awareness for their various events and initiatives. I thought this experience would be enough but apparently it wasn’t. But there was hope, this same alumna informed me that I had a higher chance of landing a job at an agency because many were desperate for talent after the pandemic.?

I thought, “that’s it!” I’ll apply for internships and full-time positions at communications agencies…after I signed a contract to teach for another school year. As the year went by, I completed my digital marketing course, continued to apply to jobs, and began to love teaching. There was an acceptance of where I was and still a determination to get to where I wanted to be. I began to love teaching lessons, connecting with students and staff, and participating in all the activities I loved as a kid but now as an adult.?

It wasn’t until I started to embrace the position I onced hated that I suddenly had to leave. I tried to talk myself out of it: What about the kids? I don’t want to break their hearts. What about the parents? They’re going to hate me. What about the pay cut? I’m making a decent amount of money. What if they don’t offer me a full-time position? Then I caused all of this commotion and trauma for nothing.

But another teacher put something into perspective for me, she said “Look at how long it took you to get this opportunity. If you don’t take it, you will never forgive yourself. The school will always be here but this opportunity won’t be.” It was those words that encouraged me to make that jump. It was the scariest decision I made this year but it was 100% worth it.

A New Journey

On my last day of teaching, I didn’t shed a tear. At recess, all of the 4th grade students secretly coordinated a massive group hug to send me off. It was the cutest gesture I could’ve possibly experienced. After several hugs and good-byes, I went home with a stack of letters from my students. The next day I opened each letter and balled my eyes out.?

This year taught me that sometimes the best decisions for you will make you uncomfortable but you have to keep going anyway. I’m glad that I finally started my professional journey in communications at Sage and they gave me this opportunity to do what I’ve always wanted to do. I’m excited to share more about the skills I’ve acquired during my internship and my professional journey overall. I hope this long-winded story encourages you to take the leap and see where it takes you.

Happy New Year!?