He Bet on Me!

I heard this story on the way to work today.  I love it!  It is such a great story of how someone was able to be transformed because someone was willing to "bet on them."


I bet we all have had someone who bet on us.  I tried to think of some people who bet on me, and one of them was the husband of one of my college professors.  In college, I always made sure that my professors knew my name and knew a little about me because I went to a huge University and I didn't want to get lost in the crowd.  Mrs. Alvarez was one of my favorites.  She and I would chat in between classes because I had many of her classes back to back.  Her husband was a grant write and loved to support his community.  When I was completing my undergraduate degree, he approached me about working towards my Master of Public Administration (MPA).  At the time I had been looking into Master of  Social Work degree, and hadn't considered the MPA degree.  He told me that I could piggyback the two degrees, but if I decided to get an MPA, he would like to hire me on a grant he had received, pay my tuition and give me a decent stipend. He really didn't know me at all, but he was willing to hire me. As a result, I was able to get my MPA for free.  It was a huge blessing because I have always been the person responsible for paying all of my educational expenses.  He bet on me, and that really altered all of my plans for the future.  I enjoyed the work he had hired me for, which was creating high school leadership programs.  He hired me through Marion County Chamber of Commerce, which gave me a lot of local connections and provided me with additional work as the director for the Marion County Foundation. Through the Maion County Foundation I learned about grant writing and the ins and outs of foundation work. After grad school, I got hired as a grant writer for Ohio Valley University, where I still work. That one act of kindness altered the course of my future forever.  He bet me. Thanks Raymond!

Who has bet on you?  I would love to hear your stories.

Have a great day,

Sarah

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