Six years with WSDOT

It's hard to believe that I've been with the Washington State Department of Transportation for six years. Tuesday, March 17 was St. Patrick's day AND my six-year anniversary with DOT.

After six years, I still enjoy my job. I enjoy getting up and going to work each day. How many people can say that? My coworkers are fantastic too. God blessed me with an awesome job. The best part is that I'm using my college degree too.

How did I get my job? I'm indebted to a college professor who recommended me for the job. During class one day, Professor Karen Stout said she wanted to talk to me after class. I spent the rest of class trying to figure out why I was in trouble. When someone says, "I want to talk to you after class," don't you immediately think you're in trouble? Maybe that's just me. Turns out, she wanted to know if I was interested in an internship with WSDOT. First question I asked her was, "Is it paid?" She said, "Yes." I enthusiastically responded, "THEN, YES!" Three other students and I interviewed for the position. I later found out that it came down to me and one other student. When my bosses asked Professor Stout who she thought would be better for the position, she said I would be. WOW! And that's how I got my job. Instead of going to class spring quarter of my senior year, I went to work. Not only was I getting paid, but I was earning the exact number of credits I needed to graduate. That was a sweet deal.

Abby came up to Western the night before the interview to help me prepare and practice for it. That was extremely helpful. I woke up the day of the interview feeling like I had the flu. It was awful. I seriously considered calling and asking to reschedule. I felt like dirt. I ultimately decided to tough it out. To this day, I'm still surprised I made it through the interview without passing out.

I remember getting the phone call from my boss that I got the job. Gosh, I was so excited.

What do I do? A bunch of different things. I'm help with Public Relations for Skagit, Whatcom and Island counties. I spend a lot of time working with the media. For example, on Friday I worked with a magazine reporter from the United Kingdom, a newspaper reporter from the Skagit Valley Herald, and a newspaper reporter from the Whidbey News Times. I also work with radio and TV too.

During a meeting on Tuesday, a coworker announced that he had 39 working days left before he retired. I then announced that it was my six-year anniversary and that I had 39 YEARS left before I retired. That got a good laugh from everyone at the meeting.

(Side note - this is our 100th blog post.)