In an overly-dramatic tone: "So, here I am again, disappointed that I was denied pursing my passion of early music performance at little to no cost to me and with the enjoyment of traveling overseas. My project idea from the Fulbright application this year was pretty much flawless; I had it all planned out, built the hype, and with one email, the plan was gone."
I admit, that's a pretty fair representation of how I felt last week when I received the news that I was not selected for the US Student Fulbright program - for the third time...
BUT HONESTLY- I've been pretty lucky lately. My friends and colleagues here in Louisville are simply the best and I managed to stumble or be divinely placed into my current job. Before my birthday last year, I was jobless and pretty freaked out that I might lose my apartment later in the year. I was quickly hired by the Rotary Club of Louisville as the Executive Administrative Assistant, which has turned out to be my best job yet. The nonprofit world is passionate, fun, busy, all the things...and I was getting to experience it daily (finance, marketing, recruitment, fundraising, database management, etc.). The challenge to help Louisville's best community leaders network together to improve many aspects of the city has been fun, and I feel like I have gained about 450 friends in the last 10 months.
From July until I received my rejection email, however, I was pretty set on leaving the Rotary Club to pursue my passion of early music performance. I wouldn't stop talking about it. I firmly believed (still do) that early music performance as a viable career is severely overlooked by musicians today. It's too old, irrelevant, unprofitable to most musicians, and I was pretty set on proving the sentiment false. After all, I had planned an impressive project that would last several years, guaranteed collaborations on a global scale, and pledged to make the end product widely available to modern musicians, especially trumpet players. It wasn't until I got the email that was forced to really formulate a new "Plan A" and quickly realized that expressing my passion in early music will have to look pretty different than what I had penned to the Fulbright commission.
Since beginning at the Rotary Club about 10 months ago, I've worked to make sure the administrative processes are more efficient and that members feel like they're getting the highest value out of their membership dues. I'm pretty honored to say that my supervisor, the Executive Director, thinks I should step into her place when she retires in a few years. At 28 and just getting my start in nonprofit, I felt grossly unprepared to even think about how I could succeed in that role.
With her guidance and support, I've resolved to continue my education in Arts Administration. While continuing to work with the Rotary Club, playing locally, and volunteering on boards and in organizations, I'll be getting structured learning in topics like marketing, educational outreach, fundraising, grant writing, financial management, policy, and law....It's the perfect training for my future with the Club and will allow me to be active in the arts long-term. Eventually, with this new trajectory, I hope to be running a nonprofit arts organization that actively promotes the relevance and usefulness of early music performance in modern, artistic culture.
Truthfully this time: So here I am, the disappointment has left me and put clarity in its place. There is something else however, a slight sense of embarrassment. No, this embarrassment does not come from me building the hype and losing my "dreams" in front of everyone. Instead, I'm embarrassed that I failed to see the abundant support around me and acknowledge that my desire to move away so quickly after getting established was not necessarily the best thing for me. If anything, I still have a lot to do for the arts in Louisville and I'm ready to put the 4-way test to good use as I navigate this new career shift.
The 4-way test:
1) Is it the TRUTH?
2) Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3) Will it build GOODWILL and better FRIENDSHIPS?
4) Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
I admit, that's a pretty fair representation of how I felt last week when I received the news that I was not selected for the US Student Fulbright program - for the third time...
BUT HONESTLY- I've been pretty lucky lately. My friends and colleagues here in Louisville are simply the best and I managed to stumble or be divinely placed into my current job. Before my birthday last year, I was jobless and pretty freaked out that I might lose my apartment later in the year. I was quickly hired by the Rotary Club of Louisville as the Executive Administrative Assistant, which has turned out to be my best job yet. The nonprofit world is passionate, fun, busy, all the things...and I was getting to experience it daily (finance, marketing, recruitment, fundraising, database management, etc.). The challenge to help Louisville's best community leaders network together to improve many aspects of the city has been fun, and I feel like I have gained about 450 friends in the last 10 months.
From July until I received my rejection email, however, I was pretty set on leaving the Rotary Club to pursue my passion of early music performance. I wouldn't stop talking about it. I firmly believed (still do) that early music performance as a viable career is severely overlooked by musicians today. It's too old, irrelevant, unprofitable to most musicians, and I was pretty set on proving the sentiment false. After all, I had planned an impressive project that would last several years, guaranteed collaborations on a global scale, and pledged to make the end product widely available to modern musicians, especially trumpet players. It wasn't until I got the email that was forced to really formulate a new "Plan A" and quickly realized that expressing my passion in early music will have to look pretty different than what I had penned to the Fulbright commission.
Since beginning at the Rotary Club about 10 months ago, I've worked to make sure the administrative processes are more efficient and that members feel like they're getting the highest value out of their membership dues. I'm pretty honored to say that my supervisor, the Executive Director, thinks I should step into her place when she retires in a few years. At 28 and just getting my start in nonprofit, I felt grossly unprepared to even think about how I could succeed in that role.
With her guidance and support, I've resolved to continue my education in Arts Administration. While continuing to work with the Rotary Club, playing locally, and volunteering on boards and in organizations, I'll be getting structured learning in topics like marketing, educational outreach, fundraising, grant writing, financial management, policy, and law....It's the perfect training for my future with the Club and will allow me to be active in the arts long-term. Eventually, with this new trajectory, I hope to be running a nonprofit arts organization that actively promotes the relevance and usefulness of early music performance in modern, artistic culture.
Truthfully this time: So here I am, the disappointment has left me and put clarity in its place. There is something else however, a slight sense of embarrassment. No, this embarrassment does not come from me building the hype and losing my "dreams" in front of everyone. Instead, I'm embarrassed that I failed to see the abundant support around me and acknowledge that my desire to move away so quickly after getting established was not necessarily the best thing for me. If anything, I still have a lot to do for the arts in Louisville and I'm ready to put the 4-way test to good use as I navigate this new career shift.
The 4-way test:
1) Is it the TRUTH?
2) Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3) Will it build GOODWILL and better FRIENDSHIPS?
4) Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?