Go West Young Man!

After much thought of what my next professional move should be after failing to land a job or internship during the past few months I have decided to take my talents to the Desert! By the way, thanks for the new catch phrase LeBron. While what talents I do possess remain unnoticed by any hiring entity at this point, its clearly in my best interest to stay involved in athletics in some capacity, however minute it may prove to be, so that my resume avoids any glaring holes from unrelated work.

The plan is to pack my 4 door sedan with clothes, computers and optimism and hit the road at the end of October. The trek from Bettendorf, Iowa to Phoenix, Arizona, corn stalks to cacti, will likely take 2 or 3 days depending on how often I stop for gas, food, sleep, entertainment or sight seeing (rumor is there's a large canyon somewhere west of colorado? Anyone hear about this yet?). Upon my arrival I will begin to track down contacts I have been given from various friends and colleagues. While interviewing for a position with the Patriot League I learned my host for the interviews attended Arizona State and spent some time down there after graduation and he was more than happy to provide me with a few names tied to professional and collegiate athletics in the Phoenix area. Number one on my "to contact list" is a gentleman working with the Insight and Fiesta Bowls to inquire about volunteering for those bowl games as well as the BCS National Championship (if you consider that a national championship, but that post is for another day...) which will all be held in Phoenix from New Years Eve thru early January.

In the midst of my professional job search I felt compelled to find a part time job for some type of income and that came in July via the local Hobby Lobby. To make matters easier for myself I'm attempting to receive a transfer from the store in Bettendorf to one in the PHX area so I wont miss a beat financially. The plan, of course, is to get involved with one of the pro teams, ASU, the bowl games, spring training, or any other quasi related athletic team/organization but if this past summer has shown me anything its that I need to have a back up plan if no opportunities present themselves, which will take the form of Hobby Lobby. Perhaps there is a golf course looking for help which would also allow time for me to volunteer with the aforementioned athletic options so at the very least I'm staying involved in the business.

If a year ago you would have told me that I will be going to Phoenix with no job lined up I might have believed you, but I would have been skeptical. Certainly, nothing in life is ever promised and I've been learning that lesson over and over all too frequently as of late but it simply will not stop me from accomplishing the goals I've set for myself even if it requires me to take some old advice: "Go west young man!" Perhaps its there that I finally find what I'm looking for and that, I'm certain, will be worth more than its weight in gold.