Swinging for the Fences

I’ve been thinking a lot about what my career will transition to after I leave UK. In a previous post, I detailed how Michael and I plan to (hopefully) quit our jobs within a year or so and take a sabbatical from working while we travel in the van for a year. After that year, we hope to “settle down”, ideally in western North Carolina, where we’ll buy a home and start a family and do all the hetero-normative American dream things. A lot of where we live will depend on where I find a job. Michael’s skill set allows him to work remotely, so his work is less location-dependent. For me, working remotely depends on the job, and it could go a lot of different ways.

Staying in my current field of sustainable transportation is a possibility. I love the work and I have a lot of experience in it. But it hasn’t been driving me the way it used to. The pandemic put all of my projects and ideas on hold. I’m just now able to implement the things I dreamed up in 2019. It’s felt stagnant. That’s not anyone’s fault, it’s just the way the world has turned. I could get my mojo back and keep rolling. But because of that, thinking about a future career in this field hasn’t been what lights my fire. I would love to return to my roots.

And by roots, I mean conservation. I grew up catching toads and bugs and climbing trees and jumping into lakes. My first job as a teenager was at a local park leading adventure programs. My undergraduate degree is in Natural Resources & Environmental Science. Now with an MPA under my belt, I’d love to work for (or lead) an environmental nonprofit that protects the natural world for future generations, or gets more folks (particularly disadvantaged folks) into the outdoors.

Admiring a bee that landed on my hand while enjoying the carnage at Sweets Falls (Gauley River, September 2021).

So when American Whitewater sent out an email that their executive director was retiring, my heart stopped. Talk about a dream job. I looked up the salary of the outgoing director and realized it was a long shot. But I met all the technical qualifications and expertise they were looking for, just maybe not the length of history or direct background. I assumed they would have a qualified internal candidate who was a shoo-in for the gig. But, the worst that can happen is they say no, right?

This job would be life changing. I’d quit at UK way sooner than expected. We wouldn’t get to do our sabbatical as we had planned. But the job was fully remote, so we could still travel. And we could move and settle down on an accelerated timeline. Most importantly, I’d be doing something that I found incredibly meaningful.

I spent several days gussying up my resume and agonizing over my cover letter. (Cover letters are without a doubt the hardest piece of writing I have ever suffered through.) I even had a trusted mentor and my husband look over my cover letter and give me feedback, and rewrote it with their notes. By the end, it was rock solid. I submitted my application and waited.

I didn’t get an interview. The rejection email was very nice and said things like “incredibly competitive pool of applicants”. I can’t deny I’m bummed. I never really expected to get it, but I hoped at least I’d get a chance to flesh out my qualifications in an interview. It wasn’t meant to be. But, maybe next time a position opens up at American Whitewater, they’ll remember me when I apply again.

It’s always worth it to swing for the fences, I think. I remember the laminated poster in the halls of my elementary school saying “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Even as a kid in grade school, I thought that quotation was dumb. The moon is infinitely closer than the stars, so it doesn’t even make sense. Nevertheless, the sentiment applies. Can’t win if you don’t try, and such.

Still, sustainable transportation and conservation are only two of dozens of possibilities for what my career after UK might be. If my life has taught me anything, it’s that opportunities often arise in the most unexpected places. You just have to be ready to chase after them when they materialize.