My job!

A High School in Paradise, California (the real name of the town)

If you have been reading my blog very much you know that I have a unique job. There are only two people in California that have my job. Me and Troy down in southern California. I am a liaison, or a bridge, between recruiters for the National Guard and the schools (high schools and colleges) in California. If you don't know what the National Guard is then you can think about it as the California Army that is used for natural disasters in the state or if the governor needs a force to help the police. I will write about that some other time. Back to my job! My area is from the Bakersfield area up to the Oregon boarder. Driving distance is from 7 hours north to 4 hours south to 4 hours east and 30 minutes west. Over 880 schools including normal high schools, alternative high schools, continuation high schools, 4 year colleges, community colleges, junior colleges, and trade schools. I visit a variety of schools each week, sometimes I have an appointment and sometimes I don't. My objective when I go to a school is to make friends. Sometimes I go and help them with something they need help with, sometimes I go to make contacts in their faculty or administrative staff or counseling staff. I am often invited to talk to students about career objectives show them how to investigate different jobs they might be interested in or maybe ones that they don't even know about until they look further. I often go to schools that have had the students take the ASVAB test (which is the test you need to take to join the military) and I go to tell the students how to use the test results to gauge their education versus the rest of the country. I can show them how to prepare for SAT tests and show them strengths they possibly didn't know they had. Sometimes it can give students confidence in non-scholastic area that they have as hobbies or study on their own, like working on cars, studying electronics, or mechanical operations. After reviewing the test results I show the students how to use the website, www.asvabprogram.com, to find out  what their interests are and then show them jobs that fit those interests. I love my job! I feel like I make a difference in lives, whether they want to go into the military or just learn more about themselves. I also help recruiters directly, training them to work with schools and sometimes going to schools with them so they know they are not working alone, but we are all part of a team. I really do think that the key to happiness is knowing that you make a difference in others lives and that you are helping make improvements in people's future.