As promised in the last
blog, this is the story of what got me to the position that I'm in at this very
moment (sitting in my bed in my boss' spare room in Indooroopilly, QLD)... Oh,
this post is probably more so that I don't forget how crazy it all worked out,
than for you all. I welcome you to read it though.
If you decide not to read any further, then just get this - It's
not always what you know, it's who you know, God works in mysterious ways
(Isaiah 55: 8-9), and He makes all things work together for your
good (Romans 8:28).
I used to work at Best Buy as a cashier for
about three years. During that time I met plenty of interesting people from all
over the world believe it or not. Lots of people love electronics I
suppose. Anyways, being the social and talkative person that I am, I
would always talk to them when I had the chance. I have an admiration for
people and I feel like I learn a lot about myself by learning about them.
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| very old picture from Best Buy 826 in the 843 |
In August of 2011 during the beginning of my
sophomore year, a guy (who we will call Joey) approached my register with a
cool accent. I asked where he was from and he told me that he was from
Australia. Of course I was excited to hear this because of my plans to go vist.
Furthermore, in conversation with Joey I found that he was from Brisbane and
attended QUT! I know, WHAT ARE THE ODDS OF THAT!?! We exchanged emails and
conversed that way for a few months. He told me all about the weather, safety
and city. It was very useful information.
Well, a few months passed on and another guy
came through my line at Best Buy with an Australian accent. Come to find out,
it was Joey! Like I said it had been a few months, so I didn't remember how he
looked. Anyway, I asked him about internship opportunities in
Australia because I wanted to work and study abroad at the same time. I thought
that having an income would be good while there for the following reasons: I
like to shop, I like to eat, I like to travel and I've always worked. Besides
the money, I thought it would be a great idea to work in another country and
gain relevant marketing experience.
Joey said that he wasn't sure
about opportunities in Australia, but that there was a position where
he worked in Columbia. Apparently, they had just hired a guy from USC as an
intern and were looking for some more help. He told me to email him after the
holidays (it was about November) for more information and by then he would have
talked to his Operations Director. On Jan 3rd (after the holidays), I reminded
him via email that I was interested. He responded requesting a copy of my CV
(WTH is that I thought) to be sent to his work email address.
At the time, I was at my sister's house in
Michigan. She works in academia at the University of Michigan and was rather
familiar with the document. Because she had lots of research
and professional presentations listed on hers, I couldn't use it as a
guide. I called the Career Center of USC and spoke with a
very helpful lady. She emailed me some guides and links that I was
able to use to draft my own. Very helpful. (I need to message her, and
let her know how things are going.)
After sending the documents to Joey's work email
address as opposed to his personal email that we had corresponded through previously, he responded asking me to come in for an "chat". Funny thing
is, on his signature it noted that he was the President and COO (Chief Operating
Officer - learned what that meant later). From that point on, I
started referring to him as Mr.Brad as opposed to Brad. I had no idea that he
was the President of the company. Later that week, I went in for the chat and got the job
a few days later.
What I haven't mentioned is that the
international headquarters for PPP is located in Brisbane! ("This
can't be real life" - what I thought when I found out.) Joey told me that
if I worked out that I could probably get on at the Australian office. I worked
out and I'm at the Australian office currently staying with the the owner of
PPP's awesome family. The rest is history in the making...
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| listening to Pandora and taking photos from the AUS office |
Kyron S. Whitfield
P.S. I must say that I miss everyone back at the office back in Columbia a lot. In fact, I've Skyped them more than I have anybody else.