New Mexico

When I was a senior in high school which was 1988 I told my parents that I was not interested in going to college.  My years of experience told me that I had been going to school too long.  I was ready to get out in the real world and get a job.  My parents reacted by agreeing that I was probably not college material.  They saw an add in the paper for a travel agency school was recruiting in our area.  They knew that I loved to travel and presented the option to join the travel industry.  My parents took me to the seminar at the Holiday Inn.  I remember the one word that secured the deal for me.  Miami, was that all important word.  I would be going to school in Miami. Soon after enrollment I started to get these booklets with questions.  I had to read and study the material and then send in the tests and get my results back.  I did not remember them mentioning 30 weeks of homework. I thought my parents had duped me.  The carrot was still dangling and I knew at the end of all of those tests was my 8 weeks in Miami.  So I finished all of the correspondence, then I was ready to party in Miami.

My Dad flew me down in his Cessna and I remember him dropping me off at the apartment.  I was going to share this apartment with four girls.  Debbie from New Mexico, Jill from Boston, and Lisa from South Carolina.  All I remember thinking is how we were all so different.  We had come from totally different backgrounds and at first it felt very uncomfortable.  We were 18 or 19 years old and for us, this was our first big adventure.

The school was structured and they had many rules to follow.  We were expected to dress up everyday like we were going to a real job.  We didn't have a car and therefore we ended up doing a lot of walking.  We walked to the school from our apartment complex and to the grocery store too.  The teachers were professional and had experience in the travel industry.  Some of them were flight attendants, ticket agents and travel agents.  They took this coursework and teaching very seriously.  The super bowl was in town one of the first weekends we were there.  Unfortunately, I was more interested in meeting Dan Marino and spuds makenzy (dog) than doing homework and taking tests.

One day a very well manicured and professional teacher pulled me aside and asked me when I was going to get serious about my work?  She told me that most of the families had to struggle to find 5,000 dollars to put us kids through this school and she was not going to let me continue to goof off.  She told me that she knew I was smart enough but if I didn't start taking it seriously I was not going to go home with my certificate.  It really made me stop and think.  I am not exactly sure why I didn't take it seriously before.  But after our conversation I started to study and work hard in class.  I watched the other students who were really trying hard to do a good job.  Her little talk with me had done the trick.  She knew that I did not want to come home without a certificate or tell my Mom that I had failed.

My roommates and I spent a lot of time together.  We would take turns cooking our favorite meals for dinner.  Debbie made the best food because she was from New Mexico she made things like enchiladas and salsa.  I don't remember what I cooked but it was probably spaghetti or something fairly simple.  The main thing we learned was to help each other, respect each other and by the end we had learned to love each other.  We did have fun along the way.  It was an interesting time, learning to become adults and take care of cooking, cleaning and getting along with people from totally different backgrounds.  At the school they were teaching us to make reservations and book flights from large books.  Eventually we were able to use the old computers that were slow and almost harder to use than the book.

Things have changed and now you can book your own flight on your phone.  Debbie, Jill and I  found each other on facebook.  We have been talking about a reunion for a few years.  This year Jill and I traveled to New Mexico and Debbie had a wonderful reunion planned.  She had us white water rafting, sight seeing, dancing, hiking, singing, swimming, finding culture and we spent part of a day in a spa.  It was a fabulous trip.  The best part was getting to spend time with these two fabulous ladies.  The strangest emotion I felt was the feeling that after all these years I noticed how much we are alike.

None of the jobs we are doing are related to the certificate that we received in Miami. I know that I learned some really valuable lessons in Miami.  After we completed our program and graduated my Dad flew to Opa Locka airport in Miami to pick me up.  Debbie, Jill and I went flying over the Miami area in my Dad's cessna 172.  We had a great time and they were so impressed with my ability to fly the little airplane.  I think I knew at that time what I needed to do. I enrolled in college at EKU and joined the aviation program the following semester.  My career has gone much farther than I could have ever imagined back then.  I am pretty sure that our experience in Miami set the groundwork that I desperately needed for my success that was to come.  And I made some lifetime friends in the process.