The Write Path To A New Career: Alumna and participant discuss a VocationVacations® experience
Judith Van Gieson (WCAS62)
Nancy Taylor
When Judith Van Gieson (WCAS62) saw an NAA e-mail about becoming a career mentor for other alumni and friends, she gladly stepped to the plate.
“As a published writer, I’d been enjoying mentoring and teaching for awhile and this seemed like a wonderful opportunity to do more,” she says.
Van Gieson was excited to read about VocationVacations®, a revolutionary career change and transition company that allows participants to “test-drive” a new career for a few days. The NAA partner company matches up mentors from a variety of fields with new career seekers.
It wasn’t long before Van Gieson was paired up with Nancy Taylor, an education reform advocate, who currently heads up a non-profit. “I had long wanted to write,” muses Taylor, “and have been doing so since I was very young…. This was a chance to explore my earliest passions as a child.”
When the two women met, the experience proved beneficial for both. “As a mentor, I get to share the knowledge I have of writing and publishing and can help people fulfill their dreams,” states Van Gieson.
Taylor agrees. “I needed to find a way to surround myself with folks in the [writing] world in order to explore the option, and my conversations with Judith helped me see a path ahead of me and ground me in a life I may want to create.”
Though the dream of becoming a writer seems very much ungrounded, the VocationVacations mentor took a realistic approach by taking the economy into consideration when shaping her mentee’s goals. “Back in the ’80s and ’90s,” says Van Gieson, “publishers were willing to pay new writers a decent advance. It wasn’t hard for me to break into writing, but, sad to say, the situation is very different now…. The downturn in the economy has affected many aspects of the publishing industry. However, I believe there will continue to be a place for fiction writers, although there may be fewer who are able to make a living at it. Often economic strife forces people to look for new jobs and many of those people go looking for their dream job.”
Enter Taylor, who had been inspired by social change and education work for over a decade, but felt another possible career tugging at her. “I’ve been at this nearly twenty years. I was starting to wonder if there were other talents that I was neglecting. The economy factor was a small factor, but for me, I have to be passionate about what I do.”
In the spirit of that passion, both mentor and mentee participated in the VocationVacations experience with much enthusiasm and found it extremely useful and rewarding. “I believe Nancy has the determination and the passion to make it as a writer,” adds Van Gieson. “As an end result, I encouraged her to try teaching, which would provide a steady source of income and allow more time for writing and for her to get involved with writers groups.”
And Taylor is also happy with the results. “There's nothing better for learning than experiencing a small slice of the dream or learning from those living your career direction.”
Brian Kurth is the founder of VocationVacations®. To get to know Brian, visit his blog or his Twitter page.
Posted September 25, 2009. 12:35:52
