How many jobs do you think you have had in your life so far? I have had a total of 33 jobs in 17 years. I am a professional singer and actor. Did I plan on having 33 jobs in 17 years? Of course not, but life has been a crazy wild ride. There were no drugs, very little alcohol, but WORK has been my drug of choice! I have worked at least 3 jobs or more simultaneously in addition to performing over the years. Each week, I will discuss one of my former or current jobs. My twelfth job was assistant musical director and after-school teacher at St. George’s Independent School in Germantown, Tennessee.
2013
2013 was a rough year for me! It was my first year as an adult after graduating college. I could not find a job in Memphis other than sales, not even part-time. By late August 2013, I had moved to NYC for three weeks and returned home and sold insurance at AFLAC for four months and made no money. What was even worse was that my best friend died in a car accident in April 2013 and I was devastated. I felt more depressed than ever during my first year out of college. The only highlight that year was that I performed in my first professional musical.
Teaching
In college, I always said that I never wanted to be a teacher or work with children. I guess the Lord had other plans. My college classmates were music education majors, but I was a vocal music performance major. I had never worked with children before other than at Camp Thunderbird in Minnesota. However, I was the assistant office manager at the camp, so I never actually worked with the children at all. Also, when I was a child, I did not fit in with other kids very well.
St. George’s Independent School
One day, I randomly went to the football practice of one of my distant cousins. I do not know how I ended up going to this because I had never gone to a football practice before in my life. My older cousin and another parent suggested that I apply to work at St. George’s since I was struggling to find work in Memphis. I applied to the school as a substitute teacher. I printed and filled out an application and went in-person with my resume. Thanks to the kind secretary, I was interviewed on the spot with the principal.
Interview
During the interview, the principal told me that I did not have enough experience working with children to be a substitute teacher. But a God Wink happened because he noticed that I had a music degree. He asked the fine arts teacher to come into the interview. He decided to hire me as her assist for their semester musicals and also hired me to work at the regular after-school program to gain more experience working with children.
Experience
I began working at St. George’s in September 2013. I worked part-time for the 2013-2014 school year for the after-school program and assisted with the fall and spring musicals. For the 2014-2015 school year, I only assisted with the musicals, because I had gotten a full-time job at another school. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at this school. My first vocal students went to St. Georges. One parent at the school has been a job reference for me for years as well as the fine arts teacher.
During the first semester, it was scary at first because there were 50 students who signed up to be in the musical Annie. The fine arts teacher and I worked with all 50 students for the musical rehearsals. The parents, staff and students were extremely kind and it was a pretty peaceful atmosphere to work in. I built a close relationship with the fine arts teacher and still keep in contact with her today.
Life of Teaching
Working at St. George’s was the catalyst for my job opportunities in education over the last 11 years. If I had not gotten at job there, I may never have been qualified enough to ever work in education at all. When I worked at St. George’s part-time, I felt at peace. Private schools have much smaller class sizes.
The secretary, the principal, and the fine arts teacher opened a door for me that changed my life. Working in education has given me another way to make income other than performing or customer service. I would not have my current job as a teacher’s assistant if I had never worked at St. George’s Independent School. The Lord does work in mysterious ways. Overall, I will always be grateful for the opportunity to work at St. George’s.
https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/how-to-obtain-33-jobs-in-17-years-11/