Aaaannnnd the massive life update email that just went out doubles as a blog post to make up for the entire month of October! Woooo!
I do want to keep blogging though. Felt good to get this email written.
Dear family and friends,
I hope this
finds you well and enjoying fall wherever you are. I've been wanting to
write a life update for awhile, so, without further adieu, here goes!
(Apologies to many of you for whom the following information is
repetitive...still thought you would want to be included!)
I finished my year with Lutheran Volunteer Corps in Omaha this past
August, and after a delightful San Francisco Bay area vacation, moved
back home to Chevy Chase, MD, but with a certain twist - my parents are
living up in the Big Apple of New York City, while Dad is a visiting
professor at NYU Law School, for the 2011-2012 academic school year. As
many have said, "That gives the phrase 'living at home' a whole new
meaning." I am quite lucky with my timing and everything...
...for more reasons than one. Finding a new job, in these Occupying
days, seems not to be a piece of cake. Some of you would remember that,
over the summer, I was hoping to get a part-time (unpaid) jazz research
internship in the National Museum of American History (NMAH). I applied
at the end of June, and was supposed to hear about whether or not I was
accepted by the end of July/beginning of August. By the time I got
through to the intern manager the week before Labor Day and she told me
that my application was still in circulation, I was tired of waiting,
and told her that I would re-submit my application materials for the
spring, and see what happened then. Instead of pining over the
internship I did not (and may not) get, I hope to use a substantial
portion of the rest of 2011 (and maybe into 2012, if I decide I need the
research time), to finish up an article about the life of Frank "Count"
Williams (one of my independent jazz research subjects during my senior
year of college, for those who don't know) and submit it to a scholarly
music journal.
In my original, summer-planning dream world, I would have been able
to have the internship part-time and to work in a non-profit
organization part-time. By the time I got through to the NMAH, I had
been extremely fortunate to be offered part-time work in the office of
my home church, Saint Luke Lutheran Church in Silver Spring, MD. This is
a bigger church than the two I worked for last year in Omaha, and so my
tasks are not quite as wide-reaching as "planning and coordinating
community outreach programming". I watch the door, answer phones, and
work on bulletins and other communications material. But one aspect of
this job that I do love is that Saint Luke has a food pantry, and I help
out with food bag intake, packing and distribution - something that I
haven't done too much of in previous work or volunteer experiences.
So, working at church, the occasional dog-sitting gig, lots of love
and free dinners from family and friends, and not having to pay rent
have combined to keep me doing just fine. I have been writing lots of
cover letters to non-profit organizations that are not churches. As some
of you know (though this is my first time announcing it to a lot of
you!), my year in Omaha has led me to seriously consider seminary and
becoming a pastor. Ideally, I would love to gain some more development,
administrative, or program coordinating experience at a non-profit that
is not a church, so that I have more "broadening" experiences before
pursuing seminary. (Though it is a serious consideration, it is not a
definite yet...other grad school ideas include social work and
musicology.)
The areas of non-profit organizations that I seem to be the most
attracted to include mental health advocacy and education, homeless
services, and education and youth services. At this point I have sent
out somewhere around 25-30 applications and have had three interviews
(which have been good experiences even though they have not led to
hire), and am still writing cover letters. However, I am beginning to
consider administrative positions in pretty much anything, as well as
retail and restaurants, for a temporary job "fix", since it would be
good to start having a little more going into the savings.
I am thinking that I'm going to begin making
informational interviews happen soon, so if you know of any places that
you think I might be interested in (even if they aren't hiring), I'd be grateful if you'd be willing to let me know about those!
I think that's it for now! I'm looking forward to continue seeing
those of you that I'm seeing, staying in touch with those of you I don't
see as much anymore, and seeing a good deal of you during the
forthcoming holidays. Please feel free to write to me whenever! To my
family and friends in the DC and NYC areas, please keep me posted on
dates for sports games, concerts, plays, etc...I know I've got a few to
catch comin' up!
Love,
Anna
