The Job Story

I have had so many people ask about my "miracle job story", so here it is!

Shortly after Jordan and I were married, I dropped out of school. We didnt see a need for me to continue my education since all I wanted to do was be a stay-at-home-mom.

Just after a year of marriage we welcomed Hadley into the world. I remember holding Hadley for the first time in my arms and I had the overwhelming feeling to go back to school and get my degree. It was a feeling I could not ignore, so the next month I enrolled in full time classes. I knew it wouldnt be easy to be a full-time student and new mom, but I knew (for whatever reason) I had to go back to school. I diligently pushed on and through the elementary education program at BYUI. It was hard at times, but eventually I finished all of my classes with passing grades and all that was left to do was my student teaching.

Eighteen months ago I was anxiously awaiting an email from BYUI stating where I would be doing my student teaching. I was very excited to start the last year of my college experience and student teaching was the final step before receiving my degree. All of my friends in the elementary education program had already received their email and knew where they would be student teaching. I hadn't heard anything. I eventually called the student teaching offices to ask why I hadn't heard back about my placement. To make a long story short, a girl in the student teaching office misfiled my student teaching application. Because of her error in filing my application I was not placed for student teaching, and I would most likely have to wait another semester to start my student teaching because there was simply not enough room for me in the coming semester.

I was beyond angry at this point. I couldnt believe that just because ONE girl didnt file ONE paper right I was being forced to push back my graduation date. I prayed every night that I would be placed for the coming semester. I did not want to wait another year to do my student teaching. Then, two days before student teaching was to start I got a call from the student teaching offices informing me that a girl had dropped out of the program and her student teaching spot was now open to me. It was an answer to so many prayers. I was assigned to Ammon Elementary with Darby S. as my university supervisor/coach.

I had a great experience student teaching. I loved the teachers I worked with, the students were great, and Darby (my university supervisor) and I became great friends. As student teaching came to an end, Darby held one last meeting with me to discuss career plans after graduation. I informed her that I was finally going to start my dream job of being a stay-at-home-mom and my degree was just a back up in case I ever needed to go back to work. Darby was a little disappointed I wasn't going to continue teaching in the schools, but completely understood my decision to be a full time mom. I hugged Darby good-bye on the last day of student teaching and promised I would keep in touch.

Shortly after student teaching I received my diploma in the mail. It was such a great feeling to hold that piece of paper and know I worked so hard for something and I successfully completed it.

Exactly one week after receiving my diploma in the mail, Jordan passed away.

Shortly after the passing of Jordan, I moved back to Utah. I remember laying in bed one of my first nights back in Utah thinking about what was next for Hadley and me. Right then I felt extremely prompted to jump online and start applying for teaching jobs. I logged onto the Alpine School District website, created an application, and applied to all 63 open teaching jobs.

Days went by and I hadnt heard back from any principals regarding my job application. I was starting to panic. My mind kept on racing, and all I could think about was how in the world I was supposed to provide for Hadley.  Out of complete desperation I asked my mom if she knew of any principals that could hook me up with a job. My mom knew of an elementary school principal in Pleasant Grove. Through a series of events, this principal heard about my situation and decided to call just to offer me some job hunting advice. He said there were no openings at his school otherwise he would interview me for a job. He also went on to say that Alpine School District gets 200-300 applicants per job opening and I would probably have to substitute teach for the first year just to get my foot in the door at a school. I hung up the phone feeling even more discouraged and depressed.

The next day I was walking out to my car when I received a text from Darby (my university supervisor). Darby's text read, "Rachel! Why are you applying for jobs? And why are they jobs in Utah? I thought you were going to be full-time mom!?" I quickly responded to her text informing her of my life-changing events. As soon as Darby read the text she called me to find out more information.

Our phone conversation went something like this:

Rachel: Hello?
Darby: Oh my goodness Rachel, I had no idea about your husband. I am in shock.
Rachel: I should have text you after it happened, but I figured everyone would eventually find out one way or another.
Darby: Is there anything I can do to help you during this awful time?
Rachel: I am desperately searching for a job right now. I put your name as a reference on all of my job applications. If you get a call from a principal could you give a good referral so I can receive a job offer??
Darby: Well, funny thing just happened. I got a call from a principal that received your application. He was extremely interested in you and when he got to the last page of the application he saw my name as a reference. He immediately called me to find out what kind of teacher you are and if I would recommend you. That is how I found out about you applying for jobs in Utah!
Rachel: Do you think he will call me for an interview?
Darby: I think the chances of that are very high. Also, just so you know, the principal that called me is named David Turner, and he is my brother.

Darby and I were both in tears by that point of the conversation. Within minutes of hanging up the phone with Darby I got an email from David Turner asking for a job interview.

My job interview went better than I could have ever expected. David and I sat and visited for about a hour. At the end of the interview he invited me back for a second interview. I came back for my second interview and met the two other kindergarten teachers. They were super friendly and the three of us hit it off immediately.

After meeting with the kindergarten team, David pulled me back into his office. He informed me that he posted the kindergarten job opening months and months ago. He had interviewed several highly qualified candidates but no one ever stood out to him. Then a few weeks ago he found a teacher candidate that he thought would work perfect. He brought this candidate in for a second interview and the two kindergarten teachers did not click with the candidate. They asked David if he could search a little more for a teacher to fill the open position. David was super frustrated at this point because he had been trying for months to fill this position and just when he thought he knew who he wanted to hire, the kindergarten team didnt like his choice. He decided to jump on the application hub one more time to see if anything new had come in. That is when my application popped up and David opened it. He was super impressed with my resume and was getting ready to call me for an interview when he clicked on the reference page and saw his sisters name. He knew that it was urgent that I come in for an interview.

You can probably guess the rest of the story. I was offered the job as a kindergarten teacher.

As I think about my "miracle job story", I know the Lord's hand was in every detail of my landing a job. The timing of everything was so perfect. My student teaching application was meant to be misfiled so I could be placed with Darby as my supervisor which eventually led me to a great connection with my now-employer.

I have been through much tribulation this past year, but when I take a step back and analyze all that has happened, I realize that the miracles are continually flooding in and they are intertwined in every detail of my life. I am blessed to have my education, a great job, and an awesome family that helps me every step of the way.

PS: It's 3:00am right now, and I'm sleepy. I apologize if this post is full of typos and poor grammar. :)