Milestone

I don't think I will ever forget 2/10/1995. It was a Friday and the agenda item for the day was a job interview at Network Data Processing (NDP) in Cedar Rapids. As background, I had pretty much been looking for a permanent job - not necessarily a technical writer job, but pretty much anything permanent - for about 3 years. I graduated from Mount Mercy College in May 1992, married Karen in August 1993, took possession of our house on April 1, 1994, and was working as a full-time temp at ACT and as a part-time interviewer at Epley Marketing Services at night. I had left the Spring House in fall 1992 to go to work at APAC and then had left that permanent full-time job for a temporary scoring position at ACT. After the scoring of student essays project ended, I was hired in the first batch of temporary employees at ACT to enter FAFSAs (Federal Application for Student Aid). During the summer of 1993, I had applied for and was hired for a temporary software testing position and when that ended, I had returned to data entry.

It wasn't that I was satisfied as a temporary employee - I was not. I had applied for pretty much any open position at ACT and nothing was really materializing. I had worked my contacts and tried my best to make something happen at ACT. Nothing was materializing.

So there I was, driving up to NDP for a job interview. When NDP received my resume, it was not because I had responded to a classified ad in the newspaper. In fact, the only reason I had even heard about NDP and their existence is because of Kevin Kleitsch.

You see, Kevin and Nancy had come to our New Year's Eve party on 12/31/94. Kevin talked a lot about where he worked and how it was an awesome place to work. Shortly after the party, I had sent in my resume and cover letter to NDP. I know he talked to Vickie E quite a bit about getting me in for an interview.

Anyways, there I was, at NDP for my interview. It was at 8 AM. I talked to at least 4 people before I found myself in John Millard's office, negotiating a salary. I was given a letter of acceptance to sign and when I walked out of NDP around noon, I had a job.

Here I am, 19 years later, still working as a technical writer. I am truly blessed.