It was almost the end of another successful semester. I was sitting by my little desk in the corner of an office shared with the Director of Graduate Admissions, Ms. Heather. I was about five months into my job as the Cognos Report Writer for the Graduate Admissions Office. As I sat by my desk, I began to have a depressing feeling that I couldn't shake off. My mind drifted and I began to reflect on the semester. My Fall 2009 courses were successful. I had very good grades the entire semester. At the Institutional Research Office where I worked part time, I was becoming an expert with SAS programming and Cognos. My boss even got me to learn a new application - Microsoft Access. He assigned me a project that semester that involved building an Access database that housed Adjunct Staff Funding information for the Provost in the office of Institutional Planning, and a data entry form using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) for the Adjunct database. I enjoyed working on this project and was very proud of my work. It had been a very successful semester so far, but I just couldn't shake off the depressing feeling that day at the Graduate School Office. I was really behind on my school fees. This time, I was starting to loose hope on how I would clear my debt, and raise tuition funds for the following semester. Spring 2010 was going to be my last semester in graduate school. I was so close to the finish line and had come this far, but was at the brink of loosing hope because of my finances. Then an idea came to mind; I wasn't too excited about the idea, but it somewhat put my mind to rest - I was going to take a break from graduate school for a semester and try to raise money to clear my tuition debt and then return to school in the Fall.
Ms. Heather, the Graduate School Director was knee-deep into her work that day processing graduate admissions applications. She had the kindest heart and was so easy to talk to. "I have to tell her!!" I thought. So, I turned to Ms. Heather, "Please can I talk to you about something? Do you have a moment?" "Absolutely dear! What's up?" When she saw the concern in my eyes, she knew something was wrong, so she got up, shut the door to the office, pulled her chair close and gave me her full attention. "I don't think I will be returning next semester. I am owing so much in school fees already and I'm not sure how I will pay my tuition next semester." I said with tears in my eyes. "Oh dear, come here!" She said as pulled closer and gave me a comforting hug. Then she pulled away and said to me, "Don't give up. You will be back next semester and you will graduate. Everything will work out somehow, okay?" "Okay!" I said, wiping the tears from my eyes. Her words were comforting, yet, I was still determined to take a semester off.
Few days later, I walked into the Institutional Research office one morning. I peaked into my boss's office and greeted him. I was just about to head to my desk, but I noticed that something was oddly unusual about my boss's office. There were a few boxes on the floor and some of the books on one of his book shelves were packed into a box. I was confused and so I made a mental note to ask my co-workers what was going on, and then headed to my desk. Later that day, I got the most unexpected news that left me utterly sad and confused - My boss had accepted a new job in another state and was leaving College of Charleston.This man had been a tremendous blessing to me since I started working at the Institutional Research office. This was when I needed him most. He was going to help me get a job at the college after graduation, but now he was about to leave. Later in the evening, I laid down on the hammock in my balcony at home with a million thoughts on my mind. God why is my boss leaving now? "What's going to happen to me? How am I going to get a job at the college after graduation?" I asked God. Then, I heard the still small voice of God in my spirit saying, "I can use anyone to help you. Put all you trust in me and not man." I repented immediately for having more faith in a person's ability to help me more than God.
Prior to the end of the semester, during my devotion one day, the Lord spoke to me regarding the year 2010. He told me that 2010 was going to be My Year of Great Manifestations. The Lord said that in 2010, I would be overwhelmed by a series of events, one after the other. The blessings, favor, and breakthroughs would seem endless because just when I thought the greatest thing has happened, something greater would pop up. The Lord also said that in 2010, I would be in constant celebration. I wrote these down on my prayer journal. Soon, the Fall 2009 semester came to an end, and I returned to Columbia for the Christmas holidays. The new year arrived and by the second week, school was back in session for the Spring 2010 semester. I was reluctant to return to school due to my financial issues. I was still contemplating taking the semester off. I missed the first week of school and the two offices I worked for became concerned. The Acting Director of Institutional Research reached out to me the second week of school to enquire about why I had not returned to school and I told her that I was contemplating taking the semester off for financial reasons. She told me she would see how she could help. The Acting Director scheduled a meeting with the staff of both the Graduate Admissions office, and the Institutional Research office - both offices I worked for. They brainstormed on ways they could raise funds for me so that I could return and complete my graduate program. Several people in both offices promised to pay some amount towards my tuition debt. They even reached out to people in other administrative offices who also agreed to help me. Several people went to the financial services office and made payments towards my school fees. The Provost whom I created the Adjunct Faculty Funding Database for contributed $2,000 upon hearing about my situation and that I was the person who created the database and data entry form for her office. When I received the phone call about the overwhelming show of love and support, I was moved to tears and was so grateful. "Come back to campus Sana! We've settled your debt," my new boss said.
To be continued...
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Friday, November 29, 2019
Just Like Heaven
It was Summer 2009, my very first summer in Charleston. The weather was getting torrid and summer activities were in full swing. Summers in Charleston were absolutely my favorite. It was like God hand-picked everything I loved and put them all in one place. Everyday was an adventure. Saturday mornings were spent at the farmer's market at Marion Square Park a few blocks from my house. The farmer's market was an event that was held every Saturday morning as an opportunity for local farmers to sell their fresh produce. The best part of the farmer's market was purchasing food sold by a variety of food vendors and then sitting down in the park and enjoying live band performances. Saturday afternoons were spent taking long walks with friends at Folly beach or Isle of Palms beach, or cozying up in my room reading one of Karen Kingsbury's Christian novels. Some evenings were spent watching movies under the stars until mosquitoes started invading my space, or attending outdoor events like jazz on the pier, salsa on the pier, and reggae concerts. My favorite reggae concert was part of the Spoleto festival. Spoleto festival is an annual music and arts festival that brings artists from all over the United States like Broadway performers, comedians, singers, actors and actresses, and top names in the fashion industry to Charleston. I remember in Summer 2009, this male Broadway singer from New York rented a space in the same house where I lived for a month during the Spoleto festival as he was part of several Broadway shows in Charleston. Every morning, he would wake up bright and early and sit in his room or in the balcony and warm his voice, or practice for his show. He had a sweet operatic voice. I felt like I had a front-row seat to his concert everyday. I would clap softly in my room after each performance. "Bravo!!", "Bravo!!" I would say while applauding and would hope he didn't hear me across the hallway. He sang so beautifully that sometimes a teardrop would escape from my eyes, especially when he sang Ave Maria. He had such a high range and would sing at a high pitch and I would worry that his voice would cause the windows to shatter just like in the movies. I was always curious what the neighbours thought about our new super-talented friend. Summer 2009 in Charleston felt just like heaven. I enjoyed every bit of it!
At work (Institutional Research Office), I spent the entire summer learning something new and exciting. The college was in the process of moving away from a centralized data reporting structure where most reports came from our office, to a more decentralized data reporting structure where most non-teaching staff offices would be responsible for producing their own operational reports in a data reporting tool called Cognos. During the summer, most staff were in all-day Cognos training while I held the fort at the office. One day, my boss came by my desk after his training and dropped a huge Cognos training binder on my desk and told me, "I think you should learn this, it will be useful in future." I started learning Cognos like my life depended on it. I used my programming knowledge from graduate school to write code within Cognos to perform complex statistical analysis. With time, I became really good with Cognos and would occasionally do a little demo for my boss to share how much I was getting proficient with Cognos. He was impressed with how fast I learned it. As a result, I was invited by my boss to join the school's reporting team committee responsible for making decisions primarily regarding transitioning to the new reporting tool. I started networking with top executives in other administrative offices who were part of the committee. Later that year in the Fall semester, I got a Graduate Assistantship job with the Graduate Admissions Office and was initially responsible for helping in organizing graduate application materials and answering phones. I was still working part-time at the office of Institutional Research Office. One day, my boss from Institutional Research went over to the Graduate Admissions Office and told them how good I was with Cognos and that instead of making me answer phone calls, they should make me their Reporting Analyst. The Graduate Office loved the idea and moved me from the front desk to my own desk and made me their Reporting Analyst responsible for creating their operational reports in Cognos.
Once again, God ordered my steps so strategically in a way I never envisioned. God used my Cognos experience to open doors for me at College of Charleston in a mind-blowing way. I thank God for using my boss as my destiny helper in those days. I pray that God will cause your destiny helpers to locate you and grant you favor before them. May the Lord equip you so that you will be ready for the opportunities and open doors He has prepared for you. The best is yet to come! Watch out for the next blog post. The story gets even better!!
To be continued...
At work (Institutional Research Office), I spent the entire summer learning something new and exciting. The college was in the process of moving away from a centralized data reporting structure where most reports came from our office, to a more decentralized data reporting structure where most non-teaching staff offices would be responsible for producing their own operational reports in a data reporting tool called Cognos. During the summer, most staff were in all-day Cognos training while I held the fort at the office. One day, my boss came by my desk after his training and dropped a huge Cognos training binder on my desk and told me, "I think you should learn this, it will be useful in future." I started learning Cognos like my life depended on it. I used my programming knowledge from graduate school to write code within Cognos to perform complex statistical analysis. With time, I became really good with Cognos and would occasionally do a little demo for my boss to share how much I was getting proficient with Cognos. He was impressed with how fast I learned it. As a result, I was invited by my boss to join the school's reporting team committee responsible for making decisions primarily regarding transitioning to the new reporting tool. I started networking with top executives in other administrative offices who were part of the committee. Later that year in the Fall semester, I got a Graduate Assistantship job with the Graduate Admissions Office and was initially responsible for helping in organizing graduate application materials and answering phones. I was still working part-time at the office of Institutional Research Office. One day, my boss from Institutional Research went over to the Graduate Admissions Office and told them how good I was with Cognos and that instead of making me answer phone calls, they should make me their Reporting Analyst. The Graduate Office loved the idea and moved me from the front desk to my own desk and made me their Reporting Analyst responsible for creating their operational reports in Cognos.
Once again, God ordered my steps so strategically in a way I never envisioned. God used my Cognos experience to open doors for me at College of Charleston in a mind-blowing way. I thank God for using my boss as my destiny helper in those days. I pray that God will cause your destiny helpers to locate you and grant you favor before them. May the Lord equip you so that you will be ready for the opportunities and open doors He has prepared for you. The best is yet to come! Watch out for the next blog post. The story gets even better!!
To be continued...
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Double For My Trouble
It was almost the end of the Fall 2008 semester. It was quite a whirlwind with tons of papers due, and final exam preparations, but I was completely oblivious of the series of events that were about to unfold. The devil had some plans up his sleeves. While the devil was planning, and getting his team together and getting ready to strike, God was also planning to bring the plans of the enemy to nought and so He began to get His team together to frustrate the enemy's plans and turn them in my favor. One day, I was heading to my department to see one of my professors. As soon as I stepped into the J.C Long building, an older black man stepped into the building seconds later. I pressed the elevator button and then noticed that the man was waiting for the elevator too and couldn't take his eyes off me. "I know you from somewhere." He turned and looked at me. I turned around and looked at him and the face didn't look familiar. "Hmmm... I'm not very sure we've met before." I said. "Are you part of the Charleston Nigerian Association?" He asked. "No, sir! I know very few Nigerians here and I haven't attended any of the Nigerian Association events here in Charleston." I replied. The man was still convinced he had met me before and kept trying to place the face. Then he extended a hand... "I'm Dr. Edozie (Not his real name) with the History department. I'm from Nigeria." He introduced himself and then we shook hands... "I'm Sana, from Nigeria as well." "Wow, you don't say?! Do you have sometime? I would like to show you my office." We were heading to the same floor, so I obliged. We got to know more about each other and when we got to his office, he handed me his business card and said, "If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to call me, email me, or stop by my office." I thanked him and left the office. What I didn't know at the time was that this meeting was ordained by God, and the timing in which we met was absolutely perfect for what was about to happen.
On December 15th, 2008, after my final exams, a professor from my department forwarded me an email from one of the administrative offices about my financial situation and my inability to complete my tuition payment for the Fall semester. According to the email, the administrative staff had spoken to someone from the financial aid office and the financial aid representative said that the amount I was owing couldn't be rolled over to the Spring semester, and that they discovered that I was allowed to be put under a payment plan which according to them was illegal under federal law for foreign students. As a result, my debt from the Fall semester, and the Spring semester were due on the first day of the following semester before I would be allowed to attend classes and failure to do so would result in me potentially losing my status as a graduate student. The professor said in his email that based on the forwarded email, I may be running out of options and that I should go and talk to the parties involved to see if they would be willing to put me on a payment plan the next semester. I was alone in my room when I read the email and began to laugh hysterically. Then I got up and began to address the enemy. "Satan, you don't know who you're messing with! I'm a child of the Most High God and you're going to loose this battle!!" Immediately, a song by Clint Brown came to my spirit, and I sang it over and over again. "I have a friend His name is Jesus... He's the one, that I lean on, He's the shelter from every storm, I have a friend, His name is Jesus. Let the wind blow, let the rain fall, there is a place that I can go. I have a friend, His name is Jesus." I sent a reply to the professor who forwarded the email and said, "It may look like I'm out of options, but when I am down to nothing, God is up to something!" The following day, I went to the financial aid office to speak with one of the executives regarding the email I had received and asked if there was any way he could make an exception and allow me continue with my payment plan, but he was adamant.
Few days later, I travelled back to Columbia for the Christmas holiday. I spent quality time with my family and they were completely unaware of what was going on. My parents were still paying tuition for two of my siblings in college and there was no way I was going to make my tuition their responsibility too. The new year 2009 came and as usual, I spent the first week in prayer and fasting about the new year and regarding my graduate school tuition and the false federal regulation that was made up to make it difficult for me to return to College of Charleston. Several days into my fasting and prayer, the Spirit of God told me to sit up and that He had a plan concerning my situation at school. Do you remember the Nigerian man you met at your school recently? Forward him all the emails you've received from all the parties involved. Let him know what is going on. The Spirit of God instructed me. I forwarded all the emails to Dr. Edozie immediately and informed him about what was going on. Dr. Edozie replied shortly and expressed how sorry he was about my situation. He also said he was not aware of such a law and that he was going to look into the matter. Dr. Edozie reached out to someone in the office of International Programs and asked if the regulation existed, he even reached out to someone from the Avery Research Center at the college, and they confirmed that such a regulation never existed. At this point, emails were flying back and forth and soon word got to the parties involved that they were being investigated. As soon as they were aware, I received an email from the professor who forwarded me the email saying that he had been looking for ways to help and that I should return to Charleston and see him. The financial aid representative called and explained that the law preventing foreign students to make payment plans was no longer enforced which was not true... it never existed. He told me that he would allow me to make a payment plan again.
I returned to Charleston on January 15th, 2009. That same day, the professor who forwarded me the email handed me a check of $2,000 towards my tuition, bought all my textbooks, and helped me get a part-time job with the Computer Science department as an office assistant. Double for my trouble!!! Thank you Jesus!! God brought the devices of the enemy to nought and turned them around for my favor. I continued to work part-time with the office of Institutional Research as well. The extra income went a long way to help with rent, food, and tuition to an extent. Thankfully, my elder sister gave me two months worth of rent money and my family continued to assist with tuition from time to time that semester. This was just the beginning of many victories in Charleston that I never expected. Are you fighting battles in life and everyday it seems like the enemy is winning? Step aside and let God fight for you. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!
To be continued...
On December 15th, 2008, after my final exams, a professor from my department forwarded me an email from one of the administrative offices about my financial situation and my inability to complete my tuition payment for the Fall semester. According to the email, the administrative staff had spoken to someone from the financial aid office and the financial aid representative said that the amount I was owing couldn't be rolled over to the Spring semester, and that they discovered that I was allowed to be put under a payment plan which according to them was illegal under federal law for foreign students. As a result, my debt from the Fall semester, and the Spring semester were due on the first day of the following semester before I would be allowed to attend classes and failure to do so would result in me potentially losing my status as a graduate student. The professor said in his email that based on the forwarded email, I may be running out of options and that I should go and talk to the parties involved to see if they would be willing to put me on a payment plan the next semester. I was alone in my room when I read the email and began to laugh hysterically. Then I got up and began to address the enemy. "Satan, you don't know who you're messing with! I'm a child of the Most High God and you're going to loose this battle!!" Immediately, a song by Clint Brown came to my spirit, and I sang it over and over again. "I have a friend His name is Jesus... He's the one, that I lean on, He's the shelter from every storm, I have a friend, His name is Jesus. Let the wind blow, let the rain fall, there is a place that I can go. I have a friend, His name is Jesus." I sent a reply to the professor who forwarded the email and said, "It may look like I'm out of options, but when I am down to nothing, God is up to something!" The following day, I went to the financial aid office to speak with one of the executives regarding the email I had received and asked if there was any way he could make an exception and allow me continue with my payment plan, but he was adamant.
Few days later, I travelled back to Columbia for the Christmas holiday. I spent quality time with my family and they were completely unaware of what was going on. My parents were still paying tuition for two of my siblings in college and there was no way I was going to make my tuition their responsibility too. The new year 2009 came and as usual, I spent the first week in prayer and fasting about the new year and regarding my graduate school tuition and the false federal regulation that was made up to make it difficult for me to return to College of Charleston. Several days into my fasting and prayer, the Spirit of God told me to sit up and that He had a plan concerning my situation at school. Do you remember the Nigerian man you met at your school recently? Forward him all the emails you've received from all the parties involved. Let him know what is going on. The Spirit of God instructed me. I forwarded all the emails to Dr. Edozie immediately and informed him about what was going on. Dr. Edozie replied shortly and expressed how sorry he was about my situation. He also said he was not aware of such a law and that he was going to look into the matter. Dr. Edozie reached out to someone in the office of International Programs and asked if the regulation existed, he even reached out to someone from the Avery Research Center at the college, and they confirmed that such a regulation never existed. At this point, emails were flying back and forth and soon word got to the parties involved that they were being investigated. As soon as they were aware, I received an email from the professor who forwarded me the email saying that he had been looking for ways to help and that I should return to Charleston and see him. The financial aid representative called and explained that the law preventing foreign students to make payment plans was no longer enforced which was not true... it never existed. He told me that he would allow me to make a payment plan again.
I returned to Charleston on January 15th, 2009. That same day, the professor who forwarded me the email handed me a check of $2,000 towards my tuition, bought all my textbooks, and helped me get a part-time job with the Computer Science department as an office assistant. Double for my trouble!!! Thank you Jesus!! God brought the devices of the enemy to nought and turned them around for my favor. I continued to work part-time with the office of Institutional Research as well. The extra income went a long way to help with rent, food, and tuition to an extent. Thankfully, my elder sister gave me two months worth of rent money and my family continued to assist with tuition from time to time that semester. This was just the beginning of many victories in Charleston that I never expected. Are you fighting battles in life and everyday it seems like the enemy is winning? Step aside and let God fight for you. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!
To be continued...
Friday, November 1, 2019
A Blessing in Disguise
It was Summer 2008. I travelled back to Columbia for the summer holiday, and returned to the Glory Communications radio station for another summer internship. Once again, I was back to my GRE prep for my fourth attempt. Prior to the end of the Spring semester, my advisor had told me that I needed to get a score of at least 1,000 on my GRE exam before I'd be allowed to return for the Fall semester to officially begin my graduate studies. This time, I didn't tell a soul that I was planning on retaking the GRE exam that summer. After three GRE attempts without reaching the cut-off point, I was beginning to think that my village people were after me LOL, my African people can completely relate to this. I didn't tell any family member, co-worker, friend, no one! I would lock myself in my room and study at night after everyone had gone to bed. Two months later, and after many sleepless nights praying and preparing for GRE, I was back at Thompson Prometric Center again to retake the GRE exam. As I stepped into the exam center, I felt like Bill Murray (Phil) in the movie "Groundhog Day" who was forced to repeat the same day over and over again. Still, my faith was stronger than ever. I checked into the exam room, said a quick prayer, and started the exam. Four hours later, I completed the exam, hit the submit button and my scores were displayed on the screen. I quickly added up the scores and to my utmost surprise, I got exactly a 1,000 combined score. I couldn't believe it! I thought I may have miscalculated it, so I added the scores again at least three more times and indeed it was 1,000. I wanted to scream for joy. I quickly gathered my items and rushed out of the exam center and as soon as I entered my car, the tears of joy began to flow. I praised God who gave me the grace to finally pass my GRE exam in the nick of time after so many attempts. I returned home and quickly sent an email to my Program Director, and the Director of Graduate Admissions informing them that I finally passed the GRE exam. Four days later, I received an email from Graduate Admissions saying, "Congratulations, you have now met the requirements to become a degree-seeking student with the MS CSIS program..." I had waited so long for this. I give God all the glory!
The Fall 2008 semester began and I returned to College of Charleston as a degree-seeking graduate student. I enrolled in one Computer Science prerequisite course and two graduate courses and all three courses went great. However, I was no longer able to get student loans and life in Charleston became tough financially. My mother was no longer able to co-sign for student loans for me and I was completely distraught. My family had provided $3,000 for part of my tuition and upkeep. I made payment arrangements with the school and was expected to pay about $1,500 every month towards my tuition. My tuition per semester was about $9,000. The $,3000 from my family went mostly towards my tuition. I went from eating decent meals to surviving on cereals, and chicken noodles. I could only afford rent the first month of the semester and was scared my landlord was going to throw me out, but thankfully he didn't. He was very understanding and asked me to pay whenever money became available. I had a chat with my advisor one day and told him about my financial situation and he advised me to start searching for campus jobs on the school's website. I searched the school's job website daily and the only position that seemed feasible was a student office assistant position at the Institutional Research Office. They only needed a student for 2 hours a day and a total of 10 hours a week for $8/hr. I didn't think the hours were enough, so I decided not to apply and kept on searching for other campus jobs and submitted several applications with no success. The following week, my advisor reached out to me and told me that someone he knows from one of the administrative offices told him they were hiring. It turned out it was the same position I saw on the job website with the Institutional Research office with very few hours. I told my advisor that I had seen that job ad and that the hours were so few, and that I wouldn't be able to do much with my pay if I worked there. "But at least you can eat!" My advisor responded. That was enough to convince me that the job was worth applying for. I was eating really poorly those days but I decided not to tell my family because I felt like a burden.
Few days after applying for the office assistant job with Institutional Research (IR), I was invited for an interview. It was a brief and informal interview. At the end of the interview, I gave a little pathetic speech about how bad I needed the job and was almost close to tears. The interviewer was quite empathetic towards me. The next day, I was offered the job thankfully. I started work at the Institutional Research office the following week. It was a small office with just three other staff. The Director, the Assistant Director, and a Data Analyst. The IR Office handled official data reporting for the school and maintained huge data repositories that were analyzed and used for historical and ad hoc reports. The IR staff were the most amazing people I had ever met, they were so kind and supportive. It was a quiet office environment with very little work for me and the phone barely rang. One day, my Director, a very poised, eloquent, intelligent, and down-to-earth man in his late thirties or early forties came by and sat down beside my desk and had a chat with me. He asked how I was enjoying the job so far, and then he asked me, "Are you learning anything on this job?" "Yes, sir!" I responded. "I want you to learn all you can on this job. Do you see those two ladies in our office? They are really smart and good at what they do. I want you to learn from them. Ask them questions, be inquisitive, and learn everything they know." I was so touched that someone of this man's calibre could really take time to speak to me in that manner. He really cared about not only what I could contribute to the office, but also all the knowledge and experience I could gain from working there. I took my boss's advice and became very inquisitive about the work my colleagues were doing. I found out that my colleagues were the best SAS database programmers ever. Coincidentally, I was taking a database programming class that semester, so I would share what I learnt after each of my database programming class with one of my colleagues and she would share how she applies that concept to her job. My boss gave me a copy of his SAS programming book and I began to teach myself how to write SAS programs. By the end of that semester, I had learned so much and was so sure I wanted to become a Data Analyst.
Each time I remember how my financial struggles led me to getting a job at the Institutional Research office at College of Charleston, I shudder to think how my life would've turned out otherwise. My financial struggles were definitely a blessing in disguise. Institutional Research with the few work hours and low pay was a blessing in disguise. It's amazing how the Lord directed my steps to an office where I had no idea initially that they had anything to do with Information Technology. I'm so grateful to God for causing a bad situation to work together for my good. By the end of the semester, I was behind on my rent by a few months, I had a huge tuition debt, but the Lord continued to sustain me and was just about to prove himself strong and mighty on my behalf in a huge way. The story gets even better. Watch out for the next blog post!
To be continued...
Friday, October 25, 2019
Unstoppable
It was two months into my first semester at College of Charleston and things were going great... well, almost everything. Out of my three courses, one of them was quite challenging. Coming from a Physics background, there was quite a learning curve with my 400 level Java programming course. Fearing that I might fail the course, I decided to drop the course and retake it the next semester. I still remember the conversation I had with my professor in his office that day right after my Java class. I had just informed him of my decision to drop the class, and then he looked at me and said, "Have you ever thought that maybe Computer Science is not for you? I mean if you really want to study something in the Computer Science field, you could go to a community school and get a certificate in Computer Networking or something?" I was shocked at his statement, but suddenly, I felt a surge of determination like never before, a new passion and drive to succeed. I felt such boldness that only God could give. I looked him straight in the face and said to him, "With man, it is impossible, but with the God that I serve, it is possible! I have seen God move mountains too many times in the past to give up now. I am going to drop this course, and I will take this class again next semester. Not only will I pass this class, but you will watch me graduate with my masters in Computer Science in this same college. I have faith in God, and I know my God will see me through." I started weeping and the professor was stunned and didn't know what to say. A student knocked briefly and then opened the door and found me on a seat with tears streaming down my face. He had an awkward look on his face and slowly stepped back and then shut the door. My professor then looked at me with a softened countenance and said, "Sana, you can go ahead and drop the class. I would however love for you to continue to attend the class after you've dropped it for the rest of the semester and hopefully the course will start to make more sense with time." I thought it was a fantastic idea, so I agreed. I stood up and thanked him, then left his office.
The rest of the semester went smoothly. I continued to attend the Java classes after dropping the class up until the end of the semester and completed my other two courses successfully. When I returned home for the Christmas holiday, I spent almost an entire week fasting and praying concerning Java and for the new year ahead. I believe it was day five of my fasting and prayers, I was on my knees by my bed crying to God with regards to Java, and then I heard the Spirit of God saying to me, "Get up and wipe your tears! Pick up your Java textbook and start reading it again from the beginning." I sat up on my bed immediately, wiped the tears off my face and started reading my Java textbook from the first page and something miraculous happened! As I read pages after pages of my Java textbook, everything I read seemed so elementary. I kept asking myself, how on earth did I not understand this? This is too easy!! I began to write and compile Java programs effortlessly that I initially had trouble with. I remember saying to myself, oh! I can't wait to retake this class next semester. I can't wait to see the look on his face when I answer all the questions in class! I couldn't wait for the next semester. God came through for me! He is the giver of wisdom. God said in His word, "If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously." James 1:5. I am a living witness that His word is true.
The Christmas holiday was over, a new year had begun, and I was back in Charleston. I will never forget my Java class Spring 2008. Most questions that were asked in class, my hand was raised. I answered the questions correctly, sometimes there would be this shock on the professor's face when I answered especially a difficult Java question correctly. I passed all my tests and exams. My programming assignments were written correctly without any help and sometimes the professor would read/compile my code and then ask me if I had any help from a classmate. I knew that it was logically impossible for my professor to understand how the shift happened, and how I became so proficient with Java within a short time. At the end of that semester, I passed the class with a B, and had A's in my other two preliminary courses. I had one more preliminary course to complete which I was going to combine with two graduate courses the following semester on one condition - I had to meet the GRE cut-off point that summer before I would be allowed to officially begin my graduate program in the fall. I was more confident this time that God who had begun a good work so far, would perfect it. I had no doubt that I would return to College of Charleston the next semester as a degree-seeking graduate student. I knew God was more than able to make it possible!
To be continued...
The rest of the semester went smoothly. I continued to attend the Java classes after dropping the class up until the end of the semester and completed my other two courses successfully. When I returned home for the Christmas holiday, I spent almost an entire week fasting and praying concerning Java and for the new year ahead. I believe it was day five of my fasting and prayers, I was on my knees by my bed crying to God with regards to Java, and then I heard the Spirit of God saying to me, "Get up and wipe your tears! Pick up your Java textbook and start reading it again from the beginning." I sat up on my bed immediately, wiped the tears off my face and started reading my Java textbook from the first page and something miraculous happened! As I read pages after pages of my Java textbook, everything I read seemed so elementary. I kept asking myself, how on earth did I not understand this? This is too easy!! I began to write and compile Java programs effortlessly that I initially had trouble with. I remember saying to myself, oh! I can't wait to retake this class next semester. I can't wait to see the look on his face when I answer all the questions in class! I couldn't wait for the next semester. God came through for me! He is the giver of wisdom. God said in His word, "If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously." James 1:5. I am a living witness that His word is true.
The Christmas holiday was over, a new year had begun, and I was back in Charleston. I will never forget my Java class Spring 2008. Most questions that were asked in class, my hand was raised. I answered the questions correctly, sometimes there would be this shock on the professor's face when I answered especially a difficult Java question correctly. I passed all my tests and exams. My programming assignments were written correctly without any help and sometimes the professor would read/compile my code and then ask me if I had any help from a classmate. I knew that it was logically impossible for my professor to understand how the shift happened, and how I became so proficient with Java within a short time. At the end of that semester, I passed the class with a B, and had A's in my other two preliminary courses. I had one more preliminary course to complete which I was going to combine with two graduate courses the following semester on one condition - I had to meet the GRE cut-off point that summer before I would be allowed to officially begin my graduate program in the fall. I was more confident this time that God who had begun a good work so far, would perfect it. I had no doubt that I would return to College of Charleston the next semester as a degree-seeking graduate student. I knew God was more than able to make it possible!
To be continued...
Monday, October 14, 2019
Graduate School: The Very Beginning Part 2
It was the first day of classes. I woke up to the church bells of Cathedral of St. John the Baptist adjacent to my house. This was one of the unique attributes of Charleston that I had come to love; who needed an alarm clock when you could be woken up by a church bell? There were many historic church buildings in downtown Charleston, almost one on every street, which is why Charleston is known as the "Holy City". I woke up, showered, dressed up, and dashed out. It was a 15 minute walk to campus. I arrived at the J. C. Long Building on Liberty Street where my department was located.
I was early for my first class - Java, so I decided to drop by and see my advisor - Dr. Green (not his real name), who was also the Director of the Graduate Programs, and formally meet him before my class. After the formal meeting, I headed to the class and picked a spot on the third row. Few minutes before the professor arrived, I felt a tap on my shoulder; I turned and met a friendly face. "Hi, I'm Kavya (not her real name). You must be Sana." She said extending a hand for a handshake. Immediately, I thought, O-kay?! How did she know my name? She must have psychic powers or something. "Yes, I'm Sana." I extended my hand and we shook hands, but I had a confusing look on my face. "Dr. Green told me about you, I'm a graduate student and I'm also taking preliminary undergraduate Computer Science courses for a year before officially starting the graduate program since my first degree was not in Computer Science, just like you." She said. Immediately, a light bulb came on and then I quickly scanned the classroom and realized I was the only black student in the class, it totally made sense why Kavya knew I was "Sana". Kavya was Indian, a very intelligent girl. There was another student in our class taking preliminary courses just like us, her name was "Ming" (not her real name), she was Chinese and super smart. We met after our Java class that day all clueless about our first Java lesson. We decided to walk together to the library and read the first chapters together and make sense of what we had just learnt. That's how we became a powerful support system throughout our one year of preliminary studies, and two years of graduate school at the College of Charleston. It totally made sense why God allowed me to start my program that particular year and semester at the same time with these two lovely ladies. God knew how much I would need the support system throughout my program.
Later that day, I went to the Graduate School office and officially met Ms. Heather - the woman whom God used in a tremendous way during my graduate admission process. I gave her a big hug and told her thank you a million times over. "Sweetie, you made it happen!" She said. "You worked extremely hard, you were persistent and did not give up." I chatted with Ms. Heather for a little bit and then made another stop to collect a document I needed to send to the student loan bank. I quickly scanned the document and sent it to the bank. The very next day, my student loan was approved for tuition, textbooks, feeding, and accommodation, and the funds were disbursed to my account. I gasped when I saw the figure in my account and suddenly the "Money, Money, Money" song started playing in my head. I did a little dance, then I knelt down with my hands raised towards heaven and thanked God immensely with tears in my eyes for providing in the nick of time!
To be continued...
I was early for my first class - Java, so I decided to drop by and see my advisor - Dr. Green (not his real name), who was also the Director of the Graduate Programs, and formally meet him before my class. After the formal meeting, I headed to the class and picked a spot on the third row. Few minutes before the professor arrived, I felt a tap on my shoulder; I turned and met a friendly face. "Hi, I'm Kavya (not her real name). You must be Sana." She said extending a hand for a handshake. Immediately, I thought, O-kay?! How did she know my name? She must have psychic powers or something. "Yes, I'm Sana." I extended my hand and we shook hands, but I had a confusing look on my face. "Dr. Green told me about you, I'm a graduate student and I'm also taking preliminary undergraduate Computer Science courses for a year before officially starting the graduate program since my first degree was not in Computer Science, just like you." She said. Immediately, a light bulb came on and then I quickly scanned the classroom and realized I was the only black student in the class, it totally made sense why Kavya knew I was "Sana". Kavya was Indian, a very intelligent girl. There was another student in our class taking preliminary courses just like us, her name was "Ming" (not her real name), she was Chinese and super smart. We met after our Java class that day all clueless about our first Java lesson. We decided to walk together to the library and read the first chapters together and make sense of what we had just learnt. That's how we became a powerful support system throughout our one year of preliminary studies, and two years of graduate school at the College of Charleston. It totally made sense why God allowed me to start my program that particular year and semester at the same time with these two lovely ladies. God knew how much I would need the support system throughout my program.
Later that day, I went to the Graduate School office and officially met Ms. Heather - the woman whom God used in a tremendous way during my graduate admission process. I gave her a big hug and told her thank you a million times over. "Sweetie, you made it happen!" She said. "You worked extremely hard, you were persistent and did not give up." I chatted with Ms. Heather for a little bit and then made another stop to collect a document I needed to send to the student loan bank. I quickly scanned the document and sent it to the bank. The very next day, my student loan was approved for tuition, textbooks, feeding, and accommodation, and the funds were disbursed to my account. I gasped when I saw the figure in my account and suddenly the "Money, Money, Money" song started playing in my head. I did a little dance, then I knelt down with my hands raised towards heaven and thanked God immensely with tears in my eyes for providing in the nick of time!
To be continued...
My God-directed Journey Blog is listed among the Top 75 Faith blogs on the web by Feedspot.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Welcome to Charleston!
"Charleston 100 miles ahead," the sign read as we merged onto I-26 East towards Charleston that beautiful sunny day, August 17, 2007. As my older brother drove, I closed my eyes and began to replay the sad goodbyes from earlier that afternoon and my mother's words, "Remember your testimony! Remember where you come from. Hold on to God." It was sad leaving home where I had spent six years of my life. I couldn't believe that chapter had come to a close and a new one was just about to begin. It felt exciting, yet daunting. My brother's voice interrupted my thoughts, "Ready?" He asked. "Somewhat," I replied. "I can't believe you're moving. We will certainly miss you. Quite a change, huh? You know, going from Benedict College to College of Charleston is like getting the best of both worlds." My brother said. He was absolutely right; going from attending Benedict College, an HBCU (Historical Black College or University) with a 99.5% black population to College of Charleston with only 7% blacks, and about 80% whites at the time was quite a change. I was thrilled about all the adventures of attending a new school - a different type of school with a different culture, exploring Charleston, having some independence, and the new friendships that would be formed along the way. Two hours later, and we were in Charleston. I had drifted off and possibly dreaming about Charleston. My brother spotted the sign first, "Welcome to Charleston. All American City" He woke me up recognizing the significance of that moment and knowing I would remember this for years to come. "Look!" My brother said as he pointed to the sign and I felt butterflies in my stomach. "Wow! It's really happening!!!" I said, feeling a myriad of emotions all at the same time.
We drove into the city and minutes later, we drove into the driveway of a beautiful yellow Victorian house in the heart of the downtown area. We stepped out of the car and inspected the building, the well manicured flower garden by the façade of the house, the fruit and vegetable garden close to the door leading to a cozy and very sophisticated front porch. On the front porch were cane rocking chairs, dangling flower pots, potted plants, and fans on the ceiling. As we inspected the front porch briefly, Mrs. Maria (not her real name), the landlady - a lovely older lady well known in the city and nationally for her cookbooks, and cooking TV shows came out of her family room and greeted us with a big smile. She welcomed us, handed me some towels, and a key and directed us upstairs to my room through a private entrance. We headed upstairs to my room and were greeted by a beautiful well-furnished room with lovely antique furniture, a mini-sized tv with cable, a fireplace, a small fridge with a microwave oven on it, a small cane table with an antique chair, a bathroom, and beautiful paintings on the wall. I looked closely at the paintings and then I froze the second I saw the picture right above my bed, it was the painting of Randolph Hall at the College of Charleston, the building that God showed me in my dream a year before. I felt goosebumps all over my body. I was once again reminded that I was in a city ordained by God for me, and even this very house, that room was ordained by God for me too. My brother rushed back to the car and brought the rest of my stuff, two boxes and a few items and was on his way back to Columbia shortly after.
I unpacked some of my essential items and then hopped on the bed. I curled up almost in a fetal position and laid down just looking around the room for hours. The room was beautiful, but it felt strange. The antique furniture gave the room an eerie feeling like I was taken back in time. I missed home already. The silence was deafening. The uncertainty of what life in Charleston was going to be like was overwhelming, and the reality that I was now responsible for myself, and the fact that I only had $450 to my name after paying my rent deposit and first month rent. My student loan applications had been denied except one that was pending a document from the school. My mother had co-signed the loan for me. There was a 50% chance that it was going to be denied too. School would resume in a few days and I would need to pay my tuition and purchase my textbooks. My head spun with a multitude of thoughts on my mind as I watched the sky gradually darken through the windows until I drifted off.
My first three days were similar to the first. I didn't step a foot outside my room. I got out of bed when I needed to and just stayed curled up in bed praying or looking around the room. My landlord and landlady became concerned since they hadn't seen their new occupant step a foot out since arrival. The third day, bright and early, I heard a knock on my door. It was my landlord. "Good morning, Sana!" He greeted. "We noticed you've remained in your room since you came. Go out, explore downtown, it's beautiful! Grab a map at the tourist shop on King's street and take a walk around." "Thank you sir. I will do that." I replied. An hour later, I took my landlord's advice, got dressed, stepped out, grabbed a map, and began to explore downtown Charleston, and totally fell in love with the city. I loved the shopping district - Kings street with outlet shops and restaurants just a block away from the house, The Waterfront Park - a pier overlooking the ocean with several swings and park chairs where you could sit and look at the ocean, The Battery Park overlooking the ocean with a long running/walking trail by the ocean, the historical buildings, the Colonial Lake few blocks from my house where I spent countless mornings and evenings running, or sitting on a bench reading my Bible and meditating, the downtown restaurants that served the best southern cuisine ever, the horse-drawn carriage tour rides, and the list could go on and on. I was totally in love with Charleston and was thankful to call Charleston my new home.
To be continued...
My God-directed Journey Blog is listed among the Top 75 Faith blogs on the web by Feedspot.
https://blog.feedspot.com/faith_blogs/
We drove into the city and minutes later, we drove into the driveway of a beautiful yellow Victorian house in the heart of the downtown area. We stepped out of the car and inspected the building, the well manicured flower garden by the façade of the house, the fruit and vegetable garden close to the door leading to a cozy and very sophisticated front porch. On the front porch were cane rocking chairs, dangling flower pots, potted plants, and fans on the ceiling. As we inspected the front porch briefly, Mrs. Maria (not her real name), the landlady - a lovely older lady well known in the city and nationally for her cookbooks, and cooking TV shows came out of her family room and greeted us with a big smile. She welcomed us, handed me some towels, and a key and directed us upstairs to my room through a private entrance. We headed upstairs to my room and were greeted by a beautiful well-furnished room with lovely antique furniture, a mini-sized tv with cable, a fireplace, a small fridge with a microwave oven on it, a small cane table with an antique chair, a bathroom, and beautiful paintings on the wall. I looked closely at the paintings and then I froze the second I saw the picture right above my bed, it was the painting of Randolph Hall at the College of Charleston, the building that God showed me in my dream a year before. I felt goosebumps all over my body. I was once again reminded that I was in a city ordained by God for me, and even this very house, that room was ordained by God for me too. My brother rushed back to the car and brought the rest of my stuff, two boxes and a few items and was on his way back to Columbia shortly after.
I unpacked some of my essential items and then hopped on the bed. I curled up almost in a fetal position and laid down just looking around the room for hours. The room was beautiful, but it felt strange. The antique furniture gave the room an eerie feeling like I was taken back in time. I missed home already. The silence was deafening. The uncertainty of what life in Charleston was going to be like was overwhelming, and the reality that I was now responsible for myself, and the fact that I only had $450 to my name after paying my rent deposit and first month rent. My student loan applications had been denied except one that was pending a document from the school. My mother had co-signed the loan for me. There was a 50% chance that it was going to be denied too. School would resume in a few days and I would need to pay my tuition and purchase my textbooks. My head spun with a multitude of thoughts on my mind as I watched the sky gradually darken through the windows until I drifted off.
My first three days were similar to the first. I didn't step a foot outside my room. I got out of bed when I needed to and just stayed curled up in bed praying or looking around the room. My landlord and landlady became concerned since they hadn't seen their new occupant step a foot out since arrival. The third day, bright and early, I heard a knock on my door. It was my landlord. "Good morning, Sana!" He greeted. "We noticed you've remained in your room since you came. Go out, explore downtown, it's beautiful! Grab a map at the tourist shop on King's street and take a walk around." "Thank you sir. I will do that." I replied. An hour later, I took my landlord's advice, got dressed, stepped out, grabbed a map, and began to explore downtown Charleston, and totally fell in love with the city. I loved the shopping district - Kings street with outlet shops and restaurants just a block away from the house, The Waterfront Park - a pier overlooking the ocean with several swings and park chairs where you could sit and look at the ocean, The Battery Park overlooking the ocean with a long running/walking trail by the ocean, the historical buildings, the Colonial Lake few blocks from my house where I spent countless mornings and evenings running, or sitting on a bench reading my Bible and meditating, the downtown restaurants that served the best southern cuisine ever, the horse-drawn carriage tour rides, and the list could go on and on. I was totally in love with Charleston and was thankful to call Charleston my new home.
https://blog.feedspot.com/faith_blogs/
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Graduate School: The Very Beginning
"Better is the end of a thing, than the beginning thereof." Ecclesiastes 7:8
"Though thy beginnings were small, your latter end shall greatly increase." Job 8:7
It was June 24th, 2007. After many days and nights of GRE prep for six months, my exam day was finally here. This was going to be my third attempt and a very crucial one because my score was going to determine if the Computer Science Department at College of Charleston would give me a chance or not. This time, I felt better prepared and more confident in God's ability to see me through. I drove to the exam center with worship songs playing on my car stereo as I lifted my heart up to God in worship. I could sense that something good was about to happen. I arrived the exam center a few minutes later, said a prayer committing the exam into God's hands, and then stepped out of the car and just like deja vu once again, I was in front of Thompson Prometric center. I took a deep breath as I stepped into the building. Within minutes, I checked in and was assigned a computer. Once again, I said a prayer and then started the exam. I took the exam four hours straight with no breaks as I was eager to finish and find out my scores. Four hours felt like an eternity. Soon the timer hit zero and it was time to submit my exam. My heart raced as I hit the submit button. Immediately, the scores appeared on the screen and I quickly added up my quantitative and verbal scores. The scores added up to 950. Just 50 points short of the cut-off point - enough to prove to the director of the Computer Science department that I could bridge the gap in my GRE scores and that I would be successful in the program if given a chance to start out as a non-degree-seeking student. I added the scores over again and could not believe it! I was so happy. As soon as I got home, I emailed Ms. Heather, the director of Graduate Admissions and told her the good news. She replied shortly and congratulated me and promised to relay the information to the director of the Computer Science department.
On July 13th, 2007, I received an email from the director of the Computer Science Department saying that Ms. Heather had gotten in touch with him with regards to my latest GRE combined scores. He told me that my effort was commendable and left him hopeful that I would achieve eventual degree seeking status with the Computer Science program. He added that he would offer me provisional admission and specified the preliminary courses I would have to complete and other conditions I would have to meet before I could become a degree-seeking student, and that if I accepted these conditions, they would go ahead with my paper work. I quickly replied accepting the conditions and thanked him and Ms. Heather for all their help throughout the admission process. Within a couple of weeks, my official offer letter for non-degree-seeking admission into the Computer Science program at College of Charleston finally came in the mail. The feeling of finally holding that admission letter in my hands was indescribable. I was overjoyed! When I shared the good news with my mother, she was happy for me but a little sad that I was going to be far away from home.
Few days later, my older brother and I took a trip to College of Charleston for my orientation. I was excited to finally visit College of Charleston. During the orientation, new students and parents were given a tour of the school where we were shown the library, dormitories, the cafeteria, the campus center, department buildings, and so on. It was absolutely a beautiful campus! Soon, we were shown campus buildings on George street and then we approached a large building surrounded by a fence with an ancient-looking entrance into what looked like an open courtyard in front of the building with beautiful large oaks called the "Cistern Yard". The building looked ancient and unpainted. It was Randolph Hall - the Administration building and one of oldest college buildings in the country. We walked into the courtyard and I approached the building. Something seemed oddly familiar about the building. The tour guides were still describing the building and the courtyard, but somehow I wandered off slightly away from the group and walked towards the building trying to figure out why the building looked so familiar, then I remembered the dream and then I froze. I whispered to myself: "This is the building in my dream from last year!! I'm supposed to be here!!!" This was the clearest sign from God that enrolling at College of Charleston was His will. At that moment I had a renewed sense of hope. Hope that everything else would fall into place. Hope that my Charleston journey was in the Lord's hands and that He was going to take hold of my hands and guide me every step of the way.
"Though thy beginnings were small, your latter end shall greatly increase." Job 8:7
It was June 24th, 2007. After many days and nights of GRE prep for six months, my exam day was finally here. This was going to be my third attempt and a very crucial one because my score was going to determine if the Computer Science Department at College of Charleston would give me a chance or not. This time, I felt better prepared and more confident in God's ability to see me through. I drove to the exam center with worship songs playing on my car stereo as I lifted my heart up to God in worship. I could sense that something good was about to happen. I arrived the exam center a few minutes later, said a prayer committing the exam into God's hands, and then stepped out of the car and just like deja vu once again, I was in front of Thompson Prometric center. I took a deep breath as I stepped into the building. Within minutes, I checked in and was assigned a computer. Once again, I said a prayer and then started the exam. I took the exam four hours straight with no breaks as I was eager to finish and find out my scores. Four hours felt like an eternity. Soon the timer hit zero and it was time to submit my exam. My heart raced as I hit the submit button. Immediately, the scores appeared on the screen and I quickly added up my quantitative and verbal scores. The scores added up to 950. Just 50 points short of the cut-off point - enough to prove to the director of the Computer Science department that I could bridge the gap in my GRE scores and that I would be successful in the program if given a chance to start out as a non-degree-seeking student. I added the scores over again and could not believe it! I was so happy. As soon as I got home, I emailed Ms. Heather, the director of Graduate Admissions and told her the good news. She replied shortly and congratulated me and promised to relay the information to the director of the Computer Science department.
On July 13th, 2007, I received an email from the director of the Computer Science Department saying that Ms. Heather had gotten in touch with him with regards to my latest GRE combined scores. He told me that my effort was commendable and left him hopeful that I would achieve eventual degree seeking status with the Computer Science program. He added that he would offer me provisional admission and specified the preliminary courses I would have to complete and other conditions I would have to meet before I could become a degree-seeking student, and that if I accepted these conditions, they would go ahead with my paper work. I quickly replied accepting the conditions and thanked him and Ms. Heather for all their help throughout the admission process. Within a couple of weeks, my official offer letter for non-degree-seeking admission into the Computer Science program at College of Charleston finally came in the mail. The feeling of finally holding that admission letter in my hands was indescribable. I was overjoyed! When I shared the good news with my mother, she was happy for me but a little sad that I was going to be far away from home.
I started apartment-hunting once again, but just a few days after I began searching for apartments in Charleston, I got a forwarded email from my graduate school advisor about a lovely older couple downtown who were hoping to rent out a furnished room and bathroom in their home to a graduate student with cable and all utilities included at only $450 per month. I was afraid that since the room had been advertised for sometime, that it would no longer be available. It was just a few weeks before the beginning of the semester. Thankfully, God had kept that room for me and when I reached out, it was still available. The house was a beautiful Victorian-styled house just a few blocks away from campus. Just a 15 minute walk to the main campus.
After two months of working with some incredible people at the radio station, I had to say goodbye to my Glory Communications family to begin a new chapter in Charleston. On my last day, I was taken to a lovely restaurant downtown with all the radio personalities and lovely staff that I had come to know in such a short time. Everyone took turns saying great things about me and wishing me well in my new venture. They all gave gifts and cards and I couldn't keep a dry eye. I was so blessed to have worked with them and for their friendship during that time.
Few days later, my older brother and I took a trip to College of Charleston for my orientation. I was excited to finally visit College of Charleston. During the orientation, new students and parents were given a tour of the school where we were shown the library, dormitories, the cafeteria, the campus center, department buildings, and so on. It was absolutely a beautiful campus! Soon, we were shown campus buildings on George street and then we approached a large building surrounded by a fence with an ancient-looking entrance into what looked like an open courtyard in front of the building with beautiful large oaks called the "Cistern Yard". The building looked ancient and unpainted. It was Randolph Hall - the Administration building and one of oldest college buildings in the country. We walked into the courtyard and I approached the building. Something seemed oddly familiar about the building. The tour guides were still describing the building and the courtyard, but somehow I wandered off slightly away from the group and walked towards the building trying to figure out why the building looked so familiar, then I remembered the dream and then I froze. I whispered to myself: "This is the building in my dream from last year!! I'm supposed to be here!!!" This was the clearest sign from God that enrolling at College of Charleston was His will. At that moment I had a renewed sense of hope. Hope that everything else would fall into place. Hope that my Charleston journey was in the Lord's hands and that He was going to take hold of my hands and guide me every step of the way.
Thanks for reading! Continuation coming soon...
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Unexpected Miracle
It was a brand new year full of hopes, dreams, and expectations. 2007 was in full swing! I spent the first week in prayer and fasting and by the second week, I was back to my daily GRE prep yet again at Panera Bread café. This time, I had more time to pace myself with the GRE study and my plan was to retake the exam in 6 months. The first 4 months of the year were quite mundane and everyday seemed similar to the day before. But unexpectedly, God opened a door for me and once again I was reassured that God was still working on my behalf and ordering every one of my steps.
Sometime in late April 2007, my family was preparing to take a road trip to Baltimore, Maryland for a family friend's wedding. Two days to the trip, I desperately needed to get my hair done for the wedding as all the salons around the area were booked up and were not taking any walk-ins. My mother recommended her stylist five minutes away from our house, and so I gave her a call and she was more than willing to accommodate me. I arrived the salon that afternoon and was asked to have a seat while Mrs. Rebecca (not her real name) was finishing up with a client. Mrs. Rebecca's beautiful grandchildren were in the cozy sitting area playing. I sat and watched them play gleefully and I occasionally glanced at some pages of the magazine in my hands. Shortly, Mrs. Rebecca was all done with her client and it was my turn. She came by the sitting area and asked me to come to the back and get my hair done. Soon, I was seated and as Mrs. Rebecca was getting my hair done, we began to have a conversation about God, family, education, career, and so on. During that conversation, I had no idea that I had left a huge impression on Mrs. Rebecca. She was really impressed with the way I carried myself, my values, and upbringing. Two weeks later, I got a call from Mrs. Rebecca. She said that she remembered that during our conversation two weeks earlier, I had mentioned that I was unemployed. She told me that she might be able to help me. She asked me to update my resume and take it to the Glory Communications radio station owned by her husband, and speak with Mrs. Cornell (not her real name). Mrs. Rebecca said that I was such a remarkable young lady and that she was so impressed with how I carried myself, and my upbringing. She commended my mother for bringing up an amazing young woman and she said she really wanted to help me. I was shocked as I never expected this to happen and I was really excited although I was unsure what position I could possibly qualify for at a radio station. I thanked Mrs. Rebecca repeatedly and expressed how grateful I was for her help and kind words.
The following day, I dressed in my best professional attire, took my updated resume, and headed to the radio station. Glory Communications at the time was home to about two major gospel and talk radio stations: WFMV 95.3FM, and WGCV 620AM. I stepped into Glory Communications and asked for Mrs. Cornell. Soon, Mrs. Cornell came to the lobby with a big smile on her face and the sweetest disposition. I greeted her and we shook hands, and then she directed me to her office. Mrs. Cornell asked me a few questions and after a brief question and answer session, we started talking about her kids, life, and her new baby. We talked and laughed like we were old friends. During our conversation, I realized that Mrs. Cornell, the Sales Manager, was Mrs. Rebecca's daughter and that Mrs. Rebecca had already spoken to her husband and daughter about me. After getting to know each other, Mrs. Cornell explained the position that they had available and then she offered me the job on the spot. I wanted to jump for joy. I was so excited! I quickly accepted the offer and when I was asked when I could start, I told Mrs. Cornell that I would start the next day. I was offered a position in the sales office as an intern. Soon, Mrs. Cornell took me around the sales office and introduced me to the friendly sales staff. I was assigned a cubicle. I was also given a tour of the radio station. I met the radio personalities I had listened to for years on the gospel radio station - Tony Gee, Tony Jamison, Monica Washington, and Thelisha Casey. I was star struck! These were the radio personalities that had kept me entertained for years on WFMV 95.3FM and I couldn't believe I was actually meeting them in person and was going to work with them for the next few months until I headed off to graduate school. Just like that, God opened a door that I never expected in time for me to start saving up for my graduate school expenses.
My experience working as an intern at Glory Communications was surreal! My job duties included writing radio commercials, scheduling when commercials were going to run, making collection calls, filing, answering phone calls, and planning events organized by the company for listeners. My favorite parts of the job were definitely our morning devotions in the conference room, and writing radio commercials. Writing church program commercials was easy. I found myself using many clichés like - "Anointed Man of God," or "Power Pack Service," or "Awesome time of praise and worship," or "Come and Receive your blessings," or "You don't want to miss it!" Church program commercials were absolutely easy, but when it came to business commercials, I had to think really hard and tap into my creative juices to come up with something outstanding. I remember the first time I heard my commercial on the radio, I screamed, "That's my commercial! I wrote that!!" I would constantly ask my family members to listen to the radio station for my commercials and would tell them the exact time my commercials would air. I was proud of my little commercial-writing self! I was so happy with how flexible the job was especially when it came to my GRE study. I was allowed to use my free time to study and thankfully, I had a lot of free time daily. It was almost two months to my GRE exams and I had no doubt that God, who began this good work would see me through.
To be continued...
Sometime in late April 2007, my family was preparing to take a road trip to Baltimore, Maryland for a family friend's wedding. Two days to the trip, I desperately needed to get my hair done for the wedding as all the salons around the area were booked up and were not taking any walk-ins. My mother recommended her stylist five minutes away from our house, and so I gave her a call and she was more than willing to accommodate me. I arrived the salon that afternoon and was asked to have a seat while Mrs. Rebecca (not her real name) was finishing up with a client. Mrs. Rebecca's beautiful grandchildren were in the cozy sitting area playing. I sat and watched them play gleefully and I occasionally glanced at some pages of the magazine in my hands. Shortly, Mrs. Rebecca was all done with her client and it was my turn. She came by the sitting area and asked me to come to the back and get my hair done. Soon, I was seated and as Mrs. Rebecca was getting my hair done, we began to have a conversation about God, family, education, career, and so on. During that conversation, I had no idea that I had left a huge impression on Mrs. Rebecca. She was really impressed with the way I carried myself, my values, and upbringing. Two weeks later, I got a call from Mrs. Rebecca. She said that she remembered that during our conversation two weeks earlier, I had mentioned that I was unemployed. She told me that she might be able to help me. She asked me to update my resume and take it to the Glory Communications radio station owned by her husband, and speak with Mrs. Cornell (not her real name). Mrs. Rebecca said that I was such a remarkable young lady and that she was so impressed with how I carried myself, and my upbringing. She commended my mother for bringing up an amazing young woman and she said she really wanted to help me. I was shocked as I never expected this to happen and I was really excited although I was unsure what position I could possibly qualify for at a radio station. I thanked Mrs. Rebecca repeatedly and expressed how grateful I was for her help and kind words.
The following day, I dressed in my best professional attire, took my updated resume, and headed to the radio station. Glory Communications at the time was home to about two major gospel and talk radio stations: WFMV 95.3FM, and WGCV 620AM. I stepped into Glory Communications and asked for Mrs. Cornell. Soon, Mrs. Cornell came to the lobby with a big smile on her face and the sweetest disposition. I greeted her and we shook hands, and then she directed me to her office. Mrs. Cornell asked me a few questions and after a brief question and answer session, we started talking about her kids, life, and her new baby. We talked and laughed like we were old friends. During our conversation, I realized that Mrs. Cornell, the Sales Manager, was Mrs. Rebecca's daughter and that Mrs. Rebecca had already spoken to her husband and daughter about me. After getting to know each other, Mrs. Cornell explained the position that they had available and then she offered me the job on the spot. I wanted to jump for joy. I was so excited! I quickly accepted the offer and when I was asked when I could start, I told Mrs. Cornell that I would start the next day. I was offered a position in the sales office as an intern. Soon, Mrs. Cornell took me around the sales office and introduced me to the friendly sales staff. I was assigned a cubicle. I was also given a tour of the radio station. I met the radio personalities I had listened to for years on the gospel radio station - Tony Gee, Tony Jamison, Monica Washington, and Thelisha Casey. I was star struck! These were the radio personalities that had kept me entertained for years on WFMV 95.3FM and I couldn't believe I was actually meeting them in person and was going to work with them for the next few months until I headed off to graduate school. Just like that, God opened a door that I never expected in time for me to start saving up for my graduate school expenses.
My experience working as an intern at Glory Communications was surreal! My job duties included writing radio commercials, scheduling when commercials were going to run, making collection calls, filing, answering phone calls, and planning events organized by the company for listeners. My favorite parts of the job were definitely our morning devotions in the conference room, and writing radio commercials. Writing church program commercials was easy. I found myself using many clichés like - "Anointed Man of God," or "Power Pack Service," or "Awesome time of praise and worship," or "Come and Receive your blessings," or "You don't want to miss it!" Church program commercials were absolutely easy, but when it came to business commercials, I had to think really hard and tap into my creative juices to come up with something outstanding. I remember the first time I heard my commercial on the radio, I screamed, "That's my commercial! I wrote that!!" I would constantly ask my family members to listen to the radio station for my commercials and would tell them the exact time my commercials would air. I was proud of my little commercial-writing self! I was so happy with how flexible the job was especially when it came to my GRE study. I was allowed to use my free time to study and thankfully, I had a lot of free time daily. It was almost two months to my GRE exams and I had no doubt that God, who began this good work would see me through.
To be continued...
Thursday, September 5, 2019
The Christmas Hope
It was the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas 2006! I laid on my bed on a chilly Christmas night in my Christmas pyjamas under the covers all warm and toasty watching the Hallmark Channel Christmas movie marathon. This was my absolute favorite thing to do during the Christmas season. Most of the story lines were similar: A lady or a guy returns home to care for their aging grandmother, or for a work project and runs into their high school, or college sweetheart, they rekindle their romance, sparks fly and they fall back in love. He proposes the next Christmas under the mistletoe, they get married, and live happily ever after. The end! LOL! These story lines were so cliché and cheesy, but I loved every bit of it and couldn't get enough of the Hallmark movies. They had a way of putting one in the Christmas spirit, and make you feel all warm and fuzzy. As I laid down, I reached for my hot chocolate on the table, took a sip, and allowed my mind to drift. I began to imagine what life in Charleston was going to be like. I had not received my provisional acceptance letter yet. I made a mental note to send a follow-up email to Ms. Heather the next day.
I sent an email to Ms. Heather, the director of graduate admissions the next day and asked if my official GRE scores had been received. In her reply, she said that she had received my official GRE scores and that they were going to send out the provisional acceptance letter in a day or two. Two days later, and five days to Christmas day, I received a lengthy email from the Graduate Program Director - Dr. Martin (not his real name). Dr. Martin said in his email that he was surprised that I had taken the GRE exam twice. He congratulated me on the 30 point increment on the GRE exam, but also said that they were running on a tight schedule to admit me before the spring semester, and that they would have to defer my admission to Summer 2007. He added that deferring my admission till later would give me an opportunity to retake the GRE exam and prove to him and myself that I could bridge the gap in my GRE scores before he could grant me provisional non-degree-seeking admission. This was a little bit disappointing! I knew I had a lot of work ahead of me to pull up my GRE scores and was going to work hard to prove that I could bridge the gap in my GRE scores. However, I had hoped that receiving the provisional admission letter would be my little Christmas gift. I was a bit sad. I lost my Christmas cheer and was a little bit moody the rest of the Christmas season, but I was thankful to God that I still had a chance.
Few days passed and soon, it was New Year's Eve. I was excited to finally end the year and ring in a new year full of promises. That day, I had to decide on which church's New Year's Eve service/crossover night I was going to attend. I had two options: 1) Go to our really small African church and bind and cast all my "village people", and all the demons and their cousins as we entered the new year, or 2) Go to Right Direction Christian Center (African-American church), see lots of my peers, be entertained all night with upbeat gospel music, Christian comedy, possibly a recording gospel artist, inspiring messages, and so on... I went with option 2. Don't blame me LOL, I was young and loved a hype, and fun-filled fellowship 😊. The New Year's Eve service at Right Direction was everything I expected it to be and more. A few seconds to midnight, as the Pastor was making decrees for the new year, the countdown timer appeared on the projector screens. You could feel the excitement all over the sanctuary as everyone began to countdown together "…5...4...3...2...1 Happy New Year!!" There were loud screams as people celebrated all over the sanctuary as the timer hit 0. The screen showed fireworks and balloons were dropped from the ceiling. I shouted "Hallelujah" repeatedly and then hugged the people who were sitting close to me. I was so thankful to see another year. Soon, the pastor asked us to pray for the new year and then he told us to ask God for something special for the new year. For the very first time in the history of new year services, I told God that I had no special requests for the year. With tears running down my cheeks, all I could say was, "Lord, let your will alone be done in 2007."
To be continued...
I sent an email to Ms. Heather, the director of graduate admissions the next day and asked if my official GRE scores had been received. In her reply, she said that she had received my official GRE scores and that they were going to send out the provisional acceptance letter in a day or two. Two days later, and five days to Christmas day, I received a lengthy email from the Graduate Program Director - Dr. Martin (not his real name). Dr. Martin said in his email that he was surprised that I had taken the GRE exam twice. He congratulated me on the 30 point increment on the GRE exam, but also said that they were running on a tight schedule to admit me before the spring semester, and that they would have to defer my admission to Summer 2007. He added that deferring my admission till later would give me an opportunity to retake the GRE exam and prove to him and myself that I could bridge the gap in my GRE scores before he could grant me provisional non-degree-seeking admission. This was a little bit disappointing! I knew I had a lot of work ahead of me to pull up my GRE scores and was going to work hard to prove that I could bridge the gap in my GRE scores. However, I had hoped that receiving the provisional admission letter would be my little Christmas gift. I was a bit sad. I lost my Christmas cheer and was a little bit moody the rest of the Christmas season, but I was thankful to God that I still had a chance.
Few days passed and soon, it was New Year's Eve. I was excited to finally end the year and ring in a new year full of promises. That day, I had to decide on which church's New Year's Eve service/crossover night I was going to attend. I had two options: 1) Go to our really small African church and bind and cast all my "village people", and all the demons and their cousins as we entered the new year, or 2) Go to Right Direction Christian Center (African-American church), see lots of my peers, be entertained all night with upbeat gospel music, Christian comedy, possibly a recording gospel artist, inspiring messages, and so on... I went with option 2. Don't blame me LOL, I was young and loved a hype, and fun-filled fellowship 😊. The New Year's Eve service at Right Direction was everything I expected it to be and more. A few seconds to midnight, as the Pastor was making decrees for the new year, the countdown timer appeared on the projector screens. You could feel the excitement all over the sanctuary as everyone began to countdown together "…5...4...3...2...1 Happy New Year!!" There were loud screams as people celebrated all over the sanctuary as the timer hit 0. The screen showed fireworks and balloons were dropped from the ceiling. I shouted "Hallelujah" repeatedly and then hugged the people who were sitting close to me. I was so thankful to see another year. Soon, the pastor asked us to pray for the new year and then he told us to ask God for something special for the new year. For the very first time in the history of new year services, I told God that I had no special requests for the year. With tears running down my cheeks, all I could say was, "Lord, let your will alone be done in 2007."
To be continued...
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Claiming Territory
It was Thanksgiving Day. November 23rd, 2006. I woke up bright and early, had devotion, and dashed to the kitchen to prepare some delicious food for our Thanksgiving lunch. Soon, I was joined by two of my siblings. We chatted, cracked jokes, laughed so loud that our laughter could be heard by the neighbors close by. In a few hours, the table was set with a giant baked turkey, fried rice, corn bread, chicken, and more. Shortly, big sis arrived with the most delicious cinnamon flavored pumpkin pie, turkey dressing, and her signature Chinese fried rice. Mom came out from her room, obviously tired from her 12 hour shift the day before at the hospital. She inspected the table as we gathered around the table hungry and ready to munch... "Wow! This is awesome! Well done! Let's pray." Mom raised a chorus and we sang with our hearts filled with joy as we surrounded the dining table, completely grateful for family, victories of 2006, and moments like this. This moment meant everything to me. I bowed my head and reflected on the year: all the peaks and valley experiences. 2006 was a challenging year, but through it all, God had been faithful! Mum said a prayer of thanks and then we began to enjoy the meal together as a family. However, I couldn't ignore the knots in my stomach; my GRE exam was coming up in five days and I was getting extremely nervous. Truthfully, I did not feel prepared. I had only studied for almost a month, but I was still hopeful that I would get a passing score.
After several discussions on my case between the Graduate Admissions Office and the Computer Science department, the Computer Science department decided to grant me provisional admission as a non-degree-seeking student for Spring 2007 with a few conditions. I was required to take some core Computer Science undergraduate courses since I didn't have a Computer Science background, I was also required to retake the GRE exam and meet the cut-off point before I would be considered as a degree-seeking student. I was told that coming in as a non-degree-seeking student did not guarantee being officially admitted into the graduate program later. I was also asked to expect a letter soon with these conditions clearly stated. I knew this was nothing but the hand of God at work. I couldn't contain my joy. This was the opportunity I needed. I knew that God had begun this good work, and He was going to perfect it and cause me to eventually get admitted as a degree-seeking student.
By faith, I started searching for apartments in Charleston. At this point, I still did not receive the conditional acceptance letter yet. I found a lovely 3-bedroom apartment online with two other roommates and planned a trip to Charleston immediately. I remember my mother's reaction when I told her I was planning to go apartment hunting in Charleston. "Have you received the acceptance letter from the school yet?" "No", I replied. "Do you have money for rent, and tuition?" "The Lord will provide!" I replied. Mum had concerns, but she was very supportive. Few days later, my mum, my sisters, and I headed to Charleston, a two hour drive from Columbia. As soon as we arrived Charleston, I began to pray in my spirit on our way to the apartment. As soon as I stepped foot in Charleston, I began to silently make some decrees... "God, you said in your word that wherever the soles of my feet tread, it belongs to me. I claim every opportunity, open door, and success you have prepared for me in this land. Bring people into my life who will help me at every stage of my Charleston journey. It shall be well with me in every way in Charleston, Amen." My sisters and mum had no idea that the trip to Charleston involved more than just apartment hunting. It was an opportunity for me to claim my territory and speak into existence all the blessings that God had in store for me in Charleston.
To be continued...
After several discussions on my case between the Graduate Admissions Office and the Computer Science department, the Computer Science department decided to grant me provisional admission as a non-degree-seeking student for Spring 2007 with a few conditions. I was required to take some core Computer Science undergraduate courses since I didn't have a Computer Science background, I was also required to retake the GRE exam and meet the cut-off point before I would be considered as a degree-seeking student. I was told that coming in as a non-degree-seeking student did not guarantee being officially admitted into the graduate program later. I was also asked to expect a letter soon with these conditions clearly stated. I knew this was nothing but the hand of God at work. I couldn't contain my joy. This was the opportunity I needed. I knew that God had begun this good work, and He was going to perfect it and cause me to eventually get admitted as a degree-seeking student.
By faith, I started searching for apartments in Charleston. At this point, I still did not receive the conditional acceptance letter yet. I found a lovely 3-bedroom apartment online with two other roommates and planned a trip to Charleston immediately. I remember my mother's reaction when I told her I was planning to go apartment hunting in Charleston. "Have you received the acceptance letter from the school yet?" "No", I replied. "Do you have money for rent, and tuition?" "The Lord will provide!" I replied. Mum had concerns, but she was very supportive. Few days later, my mum, my sisters, and I headed to Charleston, a two hour drive from Columbia. As soon as we arrived Charleston, I began to pray in my spirit on our way to the apartment. As soon as I stepped foot in Charleston, I began to silently make some decrees... "God, you said in your word that wherever the soles of my feet tread, it belongs to me. I claim every opportunity, open door, and success you have prepared for me in this land. Bring people into my life who will help me at every stage of my Charleston journey. It shall be well with me in every way in Charleston, Amen." My sisters and mum had no idea that the trip to Charleston involved more than just apartment hunting. It was an opportunity for me to claim my territory and speak into existence all the blessings that God had in store for me in Charleston.
To be continued...
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
The Revelations
I remember it vividly. It was October 31st, 2006. I was sitting by a desktop computer in a bedroom. Suddenly, I heard an uproar outside and immediately I ran outside and saw a crowd of people running towards the same direction. I ran along with them without knowing why they were running, or where they were running to. We kept running until we reached what looked like a university compound and soon we arrived at a building. The building seemed really ancient and it was not painted. It looked like an administration building. The crowd ran inside the building, and as soon as I ran in, the doors were closed and no one else was allowed in. We then waited in a room to meet the president of the university to interview us. Then I woke up. I prayed and wrote the dream down in my prayer journal.
This revelation came a day before I applied to College of Charleston for graduate school admission. What I didn't know at the time was that God was showing me a particular building at College of Charleston even before I applied for admission so that in due time, I would know for sure that this was the school that God had pre-ordained for me to attend. Right from the time I received direction from God that the next step was graduate school, I had spent time praying daily for God's direction for my life. I prayed daily for God to direct my steps to the right school, and that He shouldn't allow me to make a move to any place that wasn't His will for me.
November 3rd, 2006 - two days after I applied for admission to College of Charleston, I had another revelation. I saw myself in what looked like my apartment - a new apartment that I had just moved into. In that apartment, I saw a friend Luke (not his real name). Luke told me that he was sent from the College of Charleston Graduate Admissions Office to find out about my immigration status. I told Luke my immigration status and then Luke asked me what I wanted him to tell the Graduate Admissions Team about me. "Tell them that I am very intelligent." I replied. Luke then said that he would relay that to them and also add more great attributes about me. Then I thought, wow, this is my angel sent to speak on my behalf and get me admitted into College of Charleston! Afterwards, Luke began to clean my apartment thoroughly. Then I woke up, prayed, and wrote down the dream in my prayer journal. I wrote down these exact words on my prayer journal as I reflected on the dream: "I think God has already chosen someone in the admissions office at College of Charleston whom I am going to find favor with. He or she will speak positively about my application and push it till I am admitted in Jesus' name, Amen!" Later in my story, you will read about the person whom God used to speak on my behalf and help me get admitted into College of Charleston.
These two revelations from God were significant to my graduate school journey. Later in my story, you will read about the turbulent times that came during my graduate school program, but because God had confirmed through these dreams that it was His will for me to attend College of Charleston, I was so tenacious during that time. My faith was so strong in the face of adversity. A few people told me to quit, but I kept on going. Having that knowledge that God was with me and that I was in His will made me have a crazy kind of faith that I could look at situations that looked like a red sea before me and command them in the name of Jesus to divide and then kept on going. I stared at situations that seemed like mountains, and told my mountains that they will melt in the name of Jesus and kept on going. I saw people in that land who looked like giants before me ready to devour, but I also saw the God in me Who is greater than any giant, and soon my giants began to diminish before me. There were many seasons where I was alone with no friends, no family, but God became closer than anyone could ever be. I had no other choice but to hold unto him so tight because I needed Him so desperately in Charleston. God became more than a friend - He was my guide every step of the way.
To be continued...
This revelation came a day before I applied to College of Charleston for graduate school admission. What I didn't know at the time was that God was showing me a particular building at College of Charleston even before I applied for admission so that in due time, I would know for sure that this was the school that God had pre-ordained for me to attend. Right from the time I received direction from God that the next step was graduate school, I had spent time praying daily for God's direction for my life. I prayed daily for God to direct my steps to the right school, and that He shouldn't allow me to make a move to any place that wasn't His will for me.
November 3rd, 2006 - two days after I applied for admission to College of Charleston, I had another revelation. I saw myself in what looked like my apartment - a new apartment that I had just moved into. In that apartment, I saw a friend Luke (not his real name). Luke told me that he was sent from the College of Charleston Graduate Admissions Office to find out about my immigration status. I told Luke my immigration status and then Luke asked me what I wanted him to tell the Graduate Admissions Team about me. "Tell them that I am very intelligent." I replied. Luke then said that he would relay that to them and also add more great attributes about me. Then I thought, wow, this is my angel sent to speak on my behalf and get me admitted into College of Charleston! Afterwards, Luke began to clean my apartment thoroughly. Then I woke up, prayed, and wrote down the dream in my prayer journal. I wrote down these exact words on my prayer journal as I reflected on the dream: "I think God has already chosen someone in the admissions office at College of Charleston whom I am going to find favor with. He or she will speak positively about my application and push it till I am admitted in Jesus' name, Amen!" Later in my story, you will read about the person whom God used to speak on my behalf and help me get admitted into College of Charleston.
These two revelations from God were significant to my graduate school journey. Later in my story, you will read about the turbulent times that came during my graduate school program, but because God had confirmed through these dreams that it was His will for me to attend College of Charleston, I was so tenacious during that time. My faith was so strong in the face of adversity. A few people told me to quit, but I kept on going. Having that knowledge that God was with me and that I was in His will made me have a crazy kind of faith that I could look at situations that looked like a red sea before me and command them in the name of Jesus to divide and then kept on going. I stared at situations that seemed like mountains, and told my mountains that they will melt in the name of Jesus and kept on going. I saw people in that land who looked like giants before me ready to devour, but I also saw the God in me Who is greater than any giant, and soon my giants began to diminish before me. There were many seasons where I was alone with no friends, no family, but God became closer than anyone could ever be. I had no other choice but to hold unto him so tight because I needed Him so desperately in Charleston. God became more than a friend - He was my guide every step of the way.
To be continued...
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Crazy Faith
I greeted the staff of Panera Bread café as I walked in early in the morning - November 1st 2006. I was undoubtedly their first customer of the day. I headed to the back section of the café and picked the most comfortable spot, set my laptop on the table, and pulled out my GRE prep materials. Panera Bread café had become my favorite coffee shop; I visited the coffee shop every single day they were open. They had free Internet, free unlimited coffee refills, and you guessed it - Bread!! LOL. It was almost a week since I resumed preparations for the GRE exams and researching graduate schools. I was making quite a bit of progress on my GRE prep. I had a list of potential graduate schools, but was reluctant to apply to the schools on my list for various reasons - location, admission requirements, program of study, etc. Today was the graduate school application deadline for most colleges for the Spring semester, and so it was crucial to submit an application that day.
"Good morning ma'am! What can I get for you?" A waiter approached me with a menu. I browsed the menu briefly and then told the waiter, "French Baguette please with some butter... and hot chocolate, thanks!" The waiter acknowledged my order, collected the menu and left while I inhaled the sweet smell of warm freshly baked bread coming from the bakery. Yum! I returned to my GRE studies and when my order arrived, it was a perfect time to let my brain take a break while I savored all the goodness of the French baguette and hot chocolate. I logged into my computer and continued my graduate school research. One college came to mind - College of Charleston; a friend had recently graduated from this college so I decided to check out their website. Everything I read about the school was great - feasible application requirements, perfect Computer Science program and course offerings, great location, proximity to beaches and waterfront parks - I loved everything about this school! Luckily, that day was the application deadline, so I quickly applied for graduate school admission. I submitted applications to other graduate schools as well to increase my chances of receiving an admission letter.
In less than a week, I had submitted all my supporting documents except my GRE scores, and my official transcript. That week, I went to Benedict College to request for my official undergraduate transcript to be sent to the graduate schools I had applied to. I went to the Enrollment Management office and spoke to a student account manager and was denied my transcript release due to my outstanding tuition balance. I knew that the only person who would be able to authorize my transcript release was the college president, so I decided to go to the president's office immediately and petition for my transcript release. I arrived at the president's office reception moments later. I walked up to the administrative assistant and asked if I could see the president. She asked if I had an appointment and I told her that I didn't. She asked why I needed to see the president and then I explained my situation. The admin then told me that the president would be busy for an extended time and would not be able to see me. "It's okay, I'll wait till he is available." I told the admin and then sat down and picked a magazine. Two hours passed, and I was still waiting. Occasionally, the admin would check to see if I was still waiting. Three and a half hours later, I was still waiting. When the admin saw my persistence, she knew I would wait for eight hours or more until the president came out. "Miss?" She called "I will go check and see if the president is available." She went to the president's office in the back and few minutes later, I was asked to go in and see the president.
The president of Benedict College gave me a warm smile and motioned for me to have a seat as I entered his office. I greeted him and introduced myself and then made my request. The president looked up my account on his computer and told me I had quite a substantial balance that I needed to clear. He asked me if I was willing to pay at least $2,000 upfront, and I told him I unfortunately did not have that amount and then I began to cry. "Do you have a parent I can call?" The president asked. "Yes Sir! My mother." I responded. In a few minutes, I dialed my mother's number on the president's desk phone and when my mother heard me sobbing in the background, it broke her heart. "What's wrong?" She asked. I explained everything to her and she began to encourage me. "Everything will be okay, don't cry!" My mum tried to console me. The president jumped in and introduced himself to my mother and they had a lengthy conversation and then made payment arrangements. After my mother hung up, the president then informed me that my mother had made payment arrangements and that the school was going to release only one transcript. I am eternally grateful to my mother for her love and sacrifice.
I left Benedict College that day happy about my transcript release. My official undergraduate transcript was sent to College of Charleston few days later. Although I couldn't send official transcripts to the other graduate schools to increase my chances of graduate admission, I had faith that my steps were ordered by the Lord, and that if I was only going to send a completed application to just one graduate school, then that had to be the right school for me according to God's will.
To be continued...
"Good morning ma'am! What can I get for you?" A waiter approached me with a menu. I browsed the menu briefly and then told the waiter, "French Baguette please with some butter... and hot chocolate, thanks!" The waiter acknowledged my order, collected the menu and left while I inhaled the sweet smell of warm freshly baked bread coming from the bakery. Yum! I returned to my GRE studies and when my order arrived, it was a perfect time to let my brain take a break while I savored all the goodness of the French baguette and hot chocolate. I logged into my computer and continued my graduate school research. One college came to mind - College of Charleston; a friend had recently graduated from this college so I decided to check out their website. Everything I read about the school was great - feasible application requirements, perfect Computer Science program and course offerings, great location, proximity to beaches and waterfront parks - I loved everything about this school! Luckily, that day was the application deadline, so I quickly applied for graduate school admission. I submitted applications to other graduate schools as well to increase my chances of receiving an admission letter.
In less than a week, I had submitted all my supporting documents except my GRE scores, and my official transcript. That week, I went to Benedict College to request for my official undergraduate transcript to be sent to the graduate schools I had applied to. I went to the Enrollment Management office and spoke to a student account manager and was denied my transcript release due to my outstanding tuition balance. I knew that the only person who would be able to authorize my transcript release was the college president, so I decided to go to the president's office immediately and petition for my transcript release. I arrived at the president's office reception moments later. I walked up to the administrative assistant and asked if I could see the president. She asked if I had an appointment and I told her that I didn't. She asked why I needed to see the president and then I explained my situation. The admin then told me that the president would be busy for an extended time and would not be able to see me. "It's okay, I'll wait till he is available." I told the admin and then sat down and picked a magazine. Two hours passed, and I was still waiting. Occasionally, the admin would check to see if I was still waiting. Three and a half hours later, I was still waiting. When the admin saw my persistence, she knew I would wait for eight hours or more until the president came out. "Miss?" She called "I will go check and see if the president is available." She went to the president's office in the back and few minutes later, I was asked to go in and see the president.
The president of Benedict College gave me a warm smile and motioned for me to have a seat as I entered his office. I greeted him and introduced myself and then made my request. The president looked up my account on his computer and told me I had quite a substantial balance that I needed to clear. He asked me if I was willing to pay at least $2,000 upfront, and I told him I unfortunately did not have that amount and then I began to cry. "Do you have a parent I can call?" The president asked. "Yes Sir! My mother." I responded. In a few minutes, I dialed my mother's number on the president's desk phone and when my mother heard me sobbing in the background, it broke her heart. "What's wrong?" She asked. I explained everything to her and she began to encourage me. "Everything will be okay, don't cry!" My mum tried to console me. The president jumped in and introduced himself to my mother and they had a lengthy conversation and then made payment arrangements. After my mother hung up, the president then informed me that my mother had made payment arrangements and that the school was going to release only one transcript. I am eternally grateful to my mother for her love and sacrifice.
I left Benedict College that day happy about my transcript release. My official undergraduate transcript was sent to College of Charleston few days later. Although I couldn't send official transcripts to the other graduate schools to increase my chances of graduate admission, I had faith that my steps were ordered by the Lord, and that if I was only going to send a completed application to just one graduate school, then that had to be the right school for me according to God's will.
To be continued...
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Waiting for a Breakthrough continued...
It was late in the morning mid-August 2006, I laid on my bed starring at the ceiling with a million thoughts running though my mind, then a little hunger pang interrupted my thoughts and I had to quickly decide between the soft butter bread in the kitchen with some hot and crispy chicken nuggets sandwiched in between, or the delicious rice and stew in the fridge. I decided on the bread and chicken nuggets, and then zoomed to the kitchen. This was going to be my third serving so far that morning which was not helping my growing waist and thighs. In two months, I had gained almost 20 pounds! I retuned to the room with a healthy size of bread and more than a few chicken nuggets, hopped on the bed, and began to munch. I reached for the TV remote and switched on the TV. "Here it comes from the Bob Parker studios, on CBS in Hollywood, it's the Price is Right!" The announcer's voice came on with a room full of contestants in a variety of bright colored shirts jumping and cheering. Like always, I imagined being a contestant on the Price is Right, playing the game of plinko, and winning $20,000. That would've solved half of my problems. It had been two months since I lost my daycare job. I was still unable to find another job, and still was unable to pay off my college tuition debt.
After loosing my job at the daycare, I had planned to use my time at home to prepare for the GRE exams, but it was hard to find the zeal to study. I had attempted the exam back in May of that year, but my scores were too low. Feeling discouraged as a result of the low GRE scores, I decided to focus more on finding a good job than trying to get into graduate school. I prayed daily for a breakthrough, but I prayed amiss. I prayed for God to bring my own plans and my heart desires to pass, and failed to pray for God's perfect will to come to fruition. The more my plans failed, the more frustrated I became. In all the disappointments and uncertainties, one thing was sure - my life was carefully orchestrated by God, I just didn't know it yet. Proverbs 16:9 explains this perfectly: "A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."
I was still munching my bread and chicken nuggets, and then my phone rang. It was my friend Maya (not her real name) whom I had worked with at the daycare. "Hey girl, how have you been? I've got good news for you! Bellsouth Teleperformance is hiring. All you need you need to do is show up dressed for an interview and bring your resume." I was more than delighted to receive the good news. Bellsouth Teleperformance, also known as Calltech was a call center that provided technical support to residential and commercial internet customers. My friends had worked there back in college and would always complain about how stressful the job was. I was desperate for a job at this point and was ready to take on the challenges of working at a call center. The next day, I went to Calltech bright and early with a copy of my resume. I was asked to take a computer test in order to assess my technical skills. Thankfully, I passed the computer test and was asked to wait a bit longer in line to meet the manager for an informal interview. Almost an hour later, I was called into the manager's office for my interview and was offered the job on the spot. I was overjoyed! Although the salary was minimum wage, I was grateful. It was better than nothing.
Two weeks later, I began a one-month training at Calltech. Immediately after my training, I started working as a Tier 1 technical support agent providing support to residential internet customers. Soon, I was moved up to Tier 2 and began providing support to the commercial customers. I absolutely loved the job! This is where I fell in love with Computer Science. It was at Bellsouth Teleperformance that I decided to further my studies in Computer Science instead of Environmental Engineering and then it began to make sense why the Lord had opened several doors for me the past few years in the Computer Science industry. During college, I was an intern at Hampton University, Virginia where I learned Grid Computing and also in college, I had attended a one-week all expense paid workshop at the University of Southern California (USC) where I got to see several presentations by students and computer scientists who were blazing the trail in their field, it all made sense now.
October 26, 2006 is a day I will never forget. A day that God interrupted my plans and began to give me clear directions for the next phase of my life. I sat in my cubicle that day and then a call came in... "Thank you for calling Bellsouth, this is Sana, how may I help you?" I used my best professional voice. "Oh great! Another foreign customer representative!" The caller mumbled. "Are you located in India? 'Cos I need to speak to someone in the United States!" The caller said. "Oh no, I am located in the United States, how may I help you?" I replied. The customer breathed a sigh of relief and proceeded to explain his technical issues which I resolved promptly. It had been two months since I started the job, and had gotten pretty good at resolving technical issues in record time and did excellent on all my call monitoring. Shortly after the call, I got a call from a coworker and was asked to come to the front desk immediately. As I walked to the front desk, I was startled by the little commotion going on and wasn't sure why several people were walking out with boxes and others standing around in little groups chatting with confusing looks on their faces. I approached the front desk and the man who looked like a director, or a manager looked up with a very cold look on his face and said to me: "Please turn in your name tag and access card, we are laying you off along with all our newly hired staff. Our customer service ratings have significantly dropped lately and we believe that lack of experience from our new staff have contributed to this." I froze with shock and was completely speechless. I turned in my name tag and access card and walked back to my desk really confused. I quickly packed up my stuff and walked out the door without saying any goodbyes the whole time asking God why. To my surprise, I did not shed a tear. In the midst of a very confusing moment, I was at peace and so I began to praise God as I drove home. I felt the joy of the Lord deep inside my heart. As I drove home praising, I heard clearly in my spirit, "The next step is graduate school." The words replayed in my spirit over and over again. There was a certain urgency to that voice and I knew I had to do something immediately. When I got home, I told my mother with a big smile on my face that I just got laid off and she was puzzled as she watched me deliver a sad news with a big grin on my face. Then I told her, "Mum you remember how I've always wanted to return to school for my Masters? I think I need to retake the GRE exam and start applying for Graduate School admission. "You have my full support. Sorry about your job!" My mum replied. That afternoon, I went to the electronic store and bought a laptop, then I went to the book store and bought new sets of GRE preparation materials. I started preparing for GRE, and also started researching potential graduate schools. And so, my long, arduous journey to gain graduate school admission began with God guiding me all the way.
To be continued...
After loosing my job at the daycare, I had planned to use my time at home to prepare for the GRE exams, but it was hard to find the zeal to study. I had attempted the exam back in May of that year, but my scores were too low. Feeling discouraged as a result of the low GRE scores, I decided to focus more on finding a good job than trying to get into graduate school. I prayed daily for a breakthrough, but I prayed amiss. I prayed for God to bring my own plans and my heart desires to pass, and failed to pray for God's perfect will to come to fruition. The more my plans failed, the more frustrated I became. In all the disappointments and uncertainties, one thing was sure - my life was carefully orchestrated by God, I just didn't know it yet. Proverbs 16:9 explains this perfectly: "A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."
I was still munching my bread and chicken nuggets, and then my phone rang. It was my friend Maya (not her real name) whom I had worked with at the daycare. "Hey girl, how have you been? I've got good news for you! Bellsouth Teleperformance is hiring. All you need you need to do is show up dressed for an interview and bring your resume." I was more than delighted to receive the good news. Bellsouth Teleperformance, also known as Calltech was a call center that provided technical support to residential and commercial internet customers. My friends had worked there back in college and would always complain about how stressful the job was. I was desperate for a job at this point and was ready to take on the challenges of working at a call center. The next day, I went to Calltech bright and early with a copy of my resume. I was asked to take a computer test in order to assess my technical skills. Thankfully, I passed the computer test and was asked to wait a bit longer in line to meet the manager for an informal interview. Almost an hour later, I was called into the manager's office for my interview and was offered the job on the spot. I was overjoyed! Although the salary was minimum wage, I was grateful. It was better than nothing.
Two weeks later, I began a one-month training at Calltech. Immediately after my training, I started working as a Tier 1 technical support agent providing support to residential internet customers. Soon, I was moved up to Tier 2 and began providing support to the commercial customers. I absolutely loved the job! This is where I fell in love with Computer Science. It was at Bellsouth Teleperformance that I decided to further my studies in Computer Science instead of Environmental Engineering and then it began to make sense why the Lord had opened several doors for me the past few years in the Computer Science industry. During college, I was an intern at Hampton University, Virginia where I learned Grid Computing and also in college, I had attended a one-week all expense paid workshop at the University of Southern California (USC) where I got to see several presentations by students and computer scientists who were blazing the trail in their field, it all made sense now.
October 26, 2006 is a day I will never forget. A day that God interrupted my plans and began to give me clear directions for the next phase of my life. I sat in my cubicle that day and then a call came in... "Thank you for calling Bellsouth, this is Sana, how may I help you?" I used my best professional voice. "Oh great! Another foreign customer representative!" The caller mumbled. "Are you located in India? 'Cos I need to speak to someone in the United States!" The caller said. "Oh no, I am located in the United States, how may I help you?" I replied. The customer breathed a sigh of relief and proceeded to explain his technical issues which I resolved promptly. It had been two months since I started the job, and had gotten pretty good at resolving technical issues in record time and did excellent on all my call monitoring. Shortly after the call, I got a call from a coworker and was asked to come to the front desk immediately. As I walked to the front desk, I was startled by the little commotion going on and wasn't sure why several people were walking out with boxes and others standing around in little groups chatting with confusing looks on their faces. I approached the front desk and the man who looked like a director, or a manager looked up with a very cold look on his face and said to me: "Please turn in your name tag and access card, we are laying you off along with all our newly hired staff. Our customer service ratings have significantly dropped lately and we believe that lack of experience from our new staff have contributed to this." I froze with shock and was completely speechless. I turned in my name tag and access card and walked back to my desk really confused. I quickly packed up my stuff and walked out the door without saying any goodbyes the whole time asking God why. To my surprise, I did not shed a tear. In the midst of a very confusing moment, I was at peace and so I began to praise God as I drove home. I felt the joy of the Lord deep inside my heart. As I drove home praising, I heard clearly in my spirit, "The next step is graduate school." The words replayed in my spirit over and over again. There was a certain urgency to that voice and I knew I had to do something immediately. When I got home, I told my mother with a big smile on my face that I just got laid off and she was puzzled as she watched me deliver a sad news with a big grin on my face. Then I told her, "Mum you remember how I've always wanted to return to school for my Masters? I think I need to retake the GRE exam and start applying for Graduate School admission. "You have my full support. Sorry about your job!" My mum replied. That afternoon, I went to the electronic store and bought a laptop, then I went to the book store and bought new sets of GRE preparation materials. I started preparing for GRE, and also started researching potential graduate schools. And so, my long, arduous journey to gain graduate school admission began with God guiding me all the way.
To be continued...
Thursday, July 18, 2019
Waiting for a Breakthrough
It was another beautiful spring morning in
Columbia, South Carolina - April 2006. I was driving down Columbia College
Drive vibing to some nice gospel music on my favorite radio station. I was a
block away from my destination and my heart started racing. Finally, I pulled
up into the parking lot and paused for a second and took a look at the
quaint little building in front of me - Conyers Daycare. I took a few deep
breaths, checked my time hastily, and then bowed my head and prayed for an
extra dose of anointing to cope with the "terrific" two and three
year old pupils in my class at the daycare. As soon as I stepped out of my car,
I was startled when heard my name coming from a car at the stop sign to my
right. Who could it be? I
thought. I scrutinized the car, a Lexus sedan with a lady inside. I couldn't
make out the face, so I inched closer and closer to see who it was. OMG!!! That's Linda! (Not her
real name) I was finally
able to see her face clearly. "Linda!!" I screamed and then motioned
for her to pull into the parking lot. Wow! Linda! I hadn't seen her since
graduation. She wasn't looking bad at all. Life must has been good to her since
graduation.
Linda pulled into the parking lot. She jumped out of the car, we hugged and exchanged greetings. "Sana, it's been a while! I haven't seen you in forever! Wait, you work here?" She asked. "Yes, I do" I replied. I was both shocked and embarrassed by what happened next. Linda let out a huge laugh and began inspecting the façade of the daycare and even took a peek inside through the window, and then laughed some more. "Sana, you of all people work at a daycare. Hmmm... I thought you would be in graduate school by now, or landed a good job like the others. You always acted like you were so smart back in college." I resisted every urge to respond to Linda the way my mind was telling me to, but instead, I smiled and ignored the insults. "So Linda, where do you work now?" I asked. "Well you know, I work at Benedict College now. I have my own office and all." Linda responded. "Good for you Linda, I'm happy for you! Look I have to go inside. Take care." I walked into the building.
That night, I replayed Linda's words in my mind over and over again. The truth is, just like Linda, I had expected to land a good job after graduation at least to help pay off my tuition debt. I had settled for the daycare job after months of job hunting without success. Linda's words replayed in my mind again, but the voice of God was stronger: "For surely there is an end, and your expectations shall not be cut off". Proverbs 23:18. Immediately, I felt the peace of God. Like David in the bible, I began to encourage myself in the Lord. I prayed a simple prayer that night... "God, I may not be where I want to be yet, but I'm glad that I am exactly where I need to be right now - In Your will. Direct my steps Lord, and do not let me go one step ahead of you, or one step behind you. Amen."
Two months later, I was driving to work on a hot summer day. I looked in the rearview mirror and smiled as I saw my well-pressed dark brown skirt suit hanging in the back of my car. In two hours I would be going for the last of three interviews at the South Carolina DHEC (Department of Health and Environmental Control). I had fasted and prayed, sowed a seed, anointed my head with oil, decreed, believed, and claimed it!! God really needed to come through for me on this one. DHEC was where I really wanted to work. An hour thirty minutes to the time, and I was already out the door. The interview was great for the most part except that my interviewer believed that I had applied for the wrong job based on my resume. "Ms. Ndon, all I see on your resume are Computer Science experiences - internships and workshops." He said as he lowered his glasses and looked closely at my resume. "I would advice that you either get a job in that field, or further your education in Computer Science." He concluded. I had a feeling that the interviewer was not going to offer me the job despite my convincing answers and taking about all the Environment Science courses I took in college. However, I was sure that I was going to be offered at least one of the three jobs I was interviewed for at DHEC.
The next few days were nerve-wrecking waiting for feedback from DHEC. One week passed, nothing. Second week, nothing. By the third week, the letters started coming in the mail one by one. "Sorry you are not the successful candidate for the job. A more qualified candidate has been selected." When I got the third rejection letter, my world came crashing down and the thought of returning to the daycare job was beyond depressing. I woke up the following morning with a throbbing headache and had no desire to go to work, so I called in sick. Few hours later, the daycare owner called. "Sana why did you call in sick when you know how understaffed we are?" She asked. "I am so sorry, but I am really not feeling well today." I responded. Nothing prepared me for what she was going to say next. "Sana do not come back here again. You are fired!!!"
To be continued...
Linda pulled into the parking lot. She jumped out of the car, we hugged and exchanged greetings. "Sana, it's been a while! I haven't seen you in forever! Wait, you work here?" She asked. "Yes, I do" I replied. I was both shocked and embarrassed by what happened next. Linda let out a huge laugh and began inspecting the façade of the daycare and even took a peek inside through the window, and then laughed some more. "Sana, you of all people work at a daycare. Hmmm... I thought you would be in graduate school by now, or landed a good job like the others. You always acted like you were so smart back in college." I resisted every urge to respond to Linda the way my mind was telling me to, but instead, I smiled and ignored the insults. "So Linda, where do you work now?" I asked. "Well you know, I work at Benedict College now. I have my own office and all." Linda responded. "Good for you Linda, I'm happy for you! Look I have to go inside. Take care." I walked into the building.
That night, I replayed Linda's words in my mind over and over again. The truth is, just like Linda, I had expected to land a good job after graduation at least to help pay off my tuition debt. I had settled for the daycare job after months of job hunting without success. Linda's words replayed in my mind again, but the voice of God was stronger: "For surely there is an end, and your expectations shall not be cut off". Proverbs 23:18. Immediately, I felt the peace of God. Like David in the bible, I began to encourage myself in the Lord. I prayed a simple prayer that night... "God, I may not be where I want to be yet, but I'm glad that I am exactly where I need to be right now - In Your will. Direct my steps Lord, and do not let me go one step ahead of you, or one step behind you. Amen."
Two months later, I was driving to work on a hot summer day. I looked in the rearview mirror and smiled as I saw my well-pressed dark brown skirt suit hanging in the back of my car. In two hours I would be going for the last of three interviews at the South Carolina DHEC (Department of Health and Environmental Control). I had fasted and prayed, sowed a seed, anointed my head with oil, decreed, believed, and claimed it!! God really needed to come through for me on this one. DHEC was where I really wanted to work. An hour thirty minutes to the time, and I was already out the door. The interview was great for the most part except that my interviewer believed that I had applied for the wrong job based on my resume. "Ms. Ndon, all I see on your resume are Computer Science experiences - internships and workshops." He said as he lowered his glasses and looked closely at my resume. "I would advice that you either get a job in that field, or further your education in Computer Science." He concluded. I had a feeling that the interviewer was not going to offer me the job despite my convincing answers and taking about all the Environment Science courses I took in college. However, I was sure that I was going to be offered at least one of the three jobs I was interviewed for at DHEC.
The next few days were nerve-wrecking waiting for feedback from DHEC. One week passed, nothing. Second week, nothing. By the third week, the letters started coming in the mail one by one. "Sorry you are not the successful candidate for the job. A more qualified candidate has been selected." When I got the third rejection letter, my world came crashing down and the thought of returning to the daycare job was beyond depressing. I woke up the following morning with a throbbing headache and had no desire to go to work, so I called in sick. Few hours later, the daycare owner called. "Sana why did you call in sick when you know how understaffed we are?" She asked. "I am so sorry, but I am really not feeling well today." I responded. Nothing prepared me for what she was going to say next. "Sana do not come back here again. You are fired!!!"
To be continued...
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