A Career!

I was formally offered employment at the Port of Seattle today. I start my new career on Monday. I will be in Airport Operations as a Support Training Specialist! I guess things do happen for a reason. Maybe I should send the director at Eton school a thank you note for being so arrogant and narrow minded.

So I can say now most my childhood goals and dreams have come true! I live in Seattle [check], I work in Aviation [check]. What I have to work on now is that pilot license and one day own my own home.

Finally I get to work in the field I wanted to! Maybe not as a pilot, but still in Aviation. People thought I was crazy for getting up at 4 am to take a 4 hour bus ride to Mt. San Antonio College and then not getting home till 2 am sometimes. But I guess it shows if you want something badly and you work for it you'll get it. Excuses such as doing my laundry weren't an option and if I wanted a car and a home in my future, minimum wage wasn't going to cut it or make me happy; even if I was working at an airport.

I had a choice to go to Southern Illinois University, Carbondale or CSU Los Angeles and I went with what my guts told me, not the one I was being pressured to go to. I couldn't have made a better choice. I don't think I would be here if it wasn't for Randy Berg, Keith Mew and Len Krugler. The aviation world is a tight knit community and everyone knows someone else in this industry. If I would have gone to SIU I wouldn't have had any of the support or resources I had at CSULA. Berg and Mew where always there when we needed them on or off campus and even after we graduated. They helped me get the internship at the Noise Management department at LAX/VNY airports. Krugler, well he fought hard to make me change my mind about moving to Seattle and instead staying at LAX, but he knew where I wanted to go, yet, he still supported me. When I needed references they were all there and they helped me get the job.

Of course I can't forget my friends and family (especially my cousin). They always supported me and knew even if I was broke half the time (how can I forget my spaghetti diet?), all that hard work would pay off. If it wasn't for them, I don't think I could have made it going to school full time (taking 22 units sometimes) and having two jobs. Even up here I went through some tough times and even my new friends in Seattle where here for me. So to all of you I say "Thank You!"

On a little side note, I got a response from another Boeing department for an interview, but I declined, it was a little too late.

I guess now instead of being outside the airport looking in at all the planes and hopping to be part of something big, I'm now looking up to see where this journey takes me.