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Learning Experiences
Kicking and Screaming Along the Way
Jeannette Steeves
Fifteen years ago, I made the decision to close my professional design practice in Florida. I wanted to return to school to complete my Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts at the University of Georgia.
The next ten years did not go as I had planned. The first problem was the apartment house I had recently inherited and was counting on to support me while I was in school. It burned to the ground three months after I had relocated. Shortly after wards I learned that all the belongings I truly valued, which I had left in storage in Florida, were being held by an unscrupulous moving company that demanded $10,000 to return them. I was able to work through those rather significant problems.
However, the whole educational adventure had gotten completely out of control. What I thought would be a one-year experience ended up lasting eight years. Finally, after completing my Ph. D. in housing, interior design and resource management with a minor in gerontology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, I returned to my home in Altamonte Springs.
I immediately began a job search. My goal was a job at Seminole Community College, as it was known then, which offered a two-year degree in interior design. They were also developing a program featuring studies in design for the aging population. It was exactly the kind of program I had hoped and prayed for. I was very optimistic about the possibility of securing a position there. For five years I pursued every opportunity to teach at Seminole State College (SSC), as it is now known. For five years I experienced one disappointment after another.
I did, however, get a job four years ago at a small private art school which proved to be an excellent learning experience. Coupled with my prior experience in the design field and work I had done in several levels of both residential and commercial interior design, I thought I would have no problem handling a teaching position. Not so. I encountered obstacles at SSC. Gradually I realized that I had a lot to learn about teaching. In time, however, after working very hard, I learned and grew professionally in many ways.
Two months ago I was rewarded with a job teaching two classes at SSC, which is now a full four-year college that offers a Bachelors Degree in Interior Design. Although it's a balancing act to hold two adjunct positions on two different campuses, I am enjoying the work. Now I am praying for a full-time position as the SSC program grows.
Looking back at the last five years, it couldn't be clearer to me that God's fingerprints are all over my experience. I wasn't prepared for the position I was applying for five years ago. I needed the experience that I had at the private art school to prepare me for the more complex university system and for working with students. God's patience with me is amazing. I continue to pray for the wisdom that will eliminate the kicking and screaming that almost always accompanies my growth. When am I going to remember that there's more at play than my expectations when "things" don't go according to my plans?
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