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...