While I was in tech school, one of the degrees I finely slipped into was Administrative Assistant. I had started out in tech school just taking some arbitrary classes in Emergency Medical Technician, Nursing Assistant, Life Guard, Fire Service, and then I plunging into Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN). One thing lead to another, the LPN thing got tangled up in one of my health episodes. So, I then entered the college transferrable classes (Liberal Studies) and keeping a bit of a medical theme I also veered into some Medical Secretary classes. For me, Medical Secretary evolved into Administrative Assistant. Medical Secretary or its cousin Administrative Assistant, is what we all used to know and love as a damn secretary. But nowadays the field is ensconced in software and computers. And, "political correctness" does not allow us to call anyone a "secretary" any more.
To actually get a two-year degree (Associate's Degree) in Administrative Assistant one was required to do an internship at some company/business. I was working at "The Y" as a lifeguard so my instinct was to hit them up and see if they could work something out for me. My lead college instructor suggested it was important that we actually got paid for an internship. Good luck with that with "The Y". The YMCA has a tradition of being facilitated by voluntarism and minimum wage part-time workers.
I just wanted to get the degree finished. Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered a work ethic mantra of, "finish what you start." I talked to the one Human Resources chick "The Y" had and one thing lead to another and I was directed to a different "Y" location in Madison to work in the small department that requisitioned grants from businesses or where-ever, to get money to help run..."The Y."
So there I found myself, digging through what at that time was the then fledgling Internet, looking for grant proposal formats. I found a couple examples of how to write a grant proposal (a plea for cash). My task was to submit a grant proposal to a local company and seek help funding some day care equipment. I languished over the task.
For several weeks I sauntered in to the YMCA location at the other side of town from my own "Y" location and plucked away at my task - with no pay by the way much to the chagrin of my lead college instructor. The odd thing was I was basically ignored for most of the ordeal. I obediently showed up week after week for my few weekly hours of work and no one paid attention to my endeavors.
Finally, I got my humble proposal finished. And in the spirit of my Mom working for the now defunct Parker Pen Corporation as an advertising proof reading, and her insistence of literary perfection, my little master piece finished project was turned in to the woman who over-saw grants.
I kept track of the time spent on the project and,can''t remember precisely, but around 36 hours or so was needed to satisfiy the intership requirement. That paperwork found is way my lead instructor. She informed me the work had met the program requirement.
A few weeks later, sitting half asleep at my early lifeguard shift, I got a call from the woman who over-saw grants and she said she appreciated my efforts but my grant had been turned down by the big company that I had solicited. No matter, my writing process work had met the requirement for completion of the Administrative Assistant program; no victory was needed in gloming cash for "The Y's" cause in my cause. My task was the process.
A while later I got some paperwork from my instructor evaluating my effort. I smiled when I saw "woman-who-over-saw-grant's" evaluation of my work. It went something like this: "Bob is very engaged in his task, but we never talked to him much."
Yes, no shit.
In the fray of taking care of my mother, dealing with my own health issues, and plowing on into regular college classes, my Administrative Assistant endeavor got lost in the dust. A year after I had moved on to the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater, I received an officious letter from the tech school. It was remarkable I even opened it. It was the beginning of a culture of useless envelopes from the Post Office full of pleas for crazy shit like signing up for credits cards from banks we never heard of. And the burgeoning Internet was usurping the Post Office's relevance. I rarely opened anything that came in the mail.
For some reason I ripped open the envelope.
The letter from the tech school informed me I had so many credits in that particular academic field I had graduated from the...Administrative Assistant program. A diploma accompanied the envelope - an Associate's Degree.
Note: This blog "Jobs of Bob" Category does not list the jobs chronologically - I write about the experiences as they pop up in my memory and I often revisit an older job. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Jobs of Bob Page for an ordered chronology.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Corporal Jason Floyd Lemke, 30, West Allis, Wisconsin, died on Saturday, January 5th, 2008 in Ibrahim Al Adham, Iraq. His vehicle was struck an improvised explosive device (roadside bomb). He was assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division out of Fort Lewis, Washington. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted that Corporal Lemke's death took place in Diyala province which is northeast of Baghdad. He had enlisted in the Army on December 18, 2004, in Milwaukee and started his military training in Fort Benning, Georgia. Jason reported to Fort Lewis, Washington in May of 2005. His brigade was deployed to Iraq in April of 2007. It was Lemke's first tour in Iraq. The Journal Sentinel mentioned that Lemke was the 34th soldier from his brigade to be killed since it left for Iraq in April of 2007. Lemke graduated from high school in 1996. His Military Occupational Specialty was 11C (Indirect Fire Infantryman).
The Web site iraq.pigstye.net a data base for military casualties noted via information from the Chippewa Herald that Lemke had trained in the Arabic language for a year before being deployed. Jason was also known to speak Spanish. The Web site mentioned Jason graduated in 1996 from Wisconsin Lutheran High School. As a civilian Jason had worked for a company that made stainless steel kitchen appliances. He had two children that were living with their mother at the time of his death. Jason's grandfather's and an uncle had been in the military. Corporal Lemke was a recipient of the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on terrorism Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon.
The News Tribune in Tacoma, Washington noted Lemke's fellow soldiers remember his as a source of comedic relief with his sense of humor; someone who could be counted on to finish a task; and, he was also know as a linguist. He was also known for keeping track of the status of wounded and injured fellow squad members. He had originally planned to sign up right for the military after graduating from high school, but he got married and worked odd jobs to support his family.
The Web site legacy.com via information from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel obituary pages noted that at the time of his death Jason was survived by his children Amber, Liz, and Casey; mother and father Colleen and Greg Lemke; brother Jerrie Lemke; sister Jill Lemke; and, grandmother Rosemary Lemke. Corporal Jason Lemke was the 84th Wisconsin military service person to be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
99,702 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,830 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,439 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1476 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
848 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
32,038 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
10,308 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
103 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
27 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
145 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf; and, icasualties.org.
