I Dare You To Eat It

Today I’m going to pick on our oldest daughter, Samantha. It’s been almost two months since she graduated from Marylhurst University in Portland, Oregon. Her double Master’s degree is in art therapy and mental health counseling. She spent the last year as an intern art therapy counselor working with incarcerated adolescent boys and then older adults suffering from dementia.

Finding a good job (say it with me) IN THIS ECONOMY is difficult. I’ve heard people complain that this is the worst time to have recently graduated from college but I believe that having a college degree is still a great adventage when there are limited opportunities for employment. Because Sam is serious about earning money and doesn’t have parents who support her financially, this college graduate’s willing to do…all she can!

Currently, she has a 3-point strategy going. First, she’s decided to drastically cut the price on the commissioned artwork that she creates and sales. Samantha’s undergraduate degree was in Visual Arts from Brigham Young University. Her paintings have a unique style and have helped her earn extra money during the past few years. Last year, her undergraduate senior project was selected and published in an art and design magazine.

Normally Sam would sell a 9″ x 12″ portrait for $300.00. But IN THIS ECONOMY, she’s knocking ‘em out at $100.00 a pop. Her hope is that with a “provident living” price tag, more people will want to order original art for their homes, birthday, anniversary, or Christmas gift-giving needs.

The second part to Sam’s immediate financial plan is that she’s simply taken the very best job she could find. That means waiting tables. And even though it’s a mind-bender to go back to the work she did in high school, she’s grateful for the money she can earn and hopes to be the best server McGrath’s Fish House has ever seen. With a hefty school loan to pay off, Sam has begun the digging out process and is using the best tools she can find.

Third, and maybe most important of all, Samantha continues to search the internet, make phone calls, and network with professionals, friends, and family in a continued effort to secure the A-job. Her goal is to find a therapist position where she can fully utilize the education she so diligently invested in for the past two years.

IN THIS ECONOMY, things haven’t turned out exactly as Samantha hoped, but she’s working hard to improve her situation…and that always pays.

We love you, Sam.

Tags: hard times and hard work, job hunt, plan A-B-and-C

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 19th, 2009 at 10:56 pm and is filed under Daily. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.