My last day: What I’ve learned working at my first “real” job

On May 3rd, I received some of the greatest news I will probably ever receive for the rest of my life.

After being waitlisted at my top three choices for graduate school — Northwestern, Columbia, and NYU— I was accepted to all three.

At 10:16 AM, I received a voicemail from Northwestern saying that I had been accepted (I had missed the call, because for the first time in about a week and a half, I didn’t have my phone in my hands — better to have that message saved anyway, right?). I have been wanting to go to Northwestern since I first visited when I was 16 — and now, I am heading off to be a Wildcat, officially on June 12.

Let’s be honest, I immediately started crying when I listened to that voicemail, and I am still in shock that this is all happening.

What’s even more shocking is that I only had four weeks from May 3 until today, June 2, to pack up my stuff, find an apartment, and move cross-country from the Bay Area to Chicago. Which also means that I am officially leaving my first “real” job here at Stanford University.

I had previously worked a variety of odd jobs and underpaid jobs, from opening a gym for older women at 5:30 AM three times a week, to keeping track of membership and dues at a local film and fine arts forum. But this job, as an Administrative Associate for the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education at Stanford University (try saying that 10 times fast), was “real” in the sense that it was 8 AM to 5 PM five days a week, I had a badge with my photo on it (holla), and I had benefits. Like an adult! I know!

Now that I am leaving my first “real” job to head off to graduate school, I am attempting to think up what I have gained in my time here, and how I am different as a person and an employee today compared to my first day, November 9, 2015.

Which begs the question:

I’ve learned that you may not fit in at first.

In my office, the work goes full throttle in the beginning of and up until week 7 of the academic quarter. Because I was brought in toward the end of autumn quarter — a few weeks before Thanksgiving, followed quickly by winter break—everyone else was kind of busy planning events and working on applications for the present and future.

I was kind of the odd-one-out when I first started primarily for this reason…and also largely due to the fact that I was the youngest person in the office. This was my first job out of college, truly; most of the other people in the office had their PhDs, 20+ years of experience, and/or families. LIKE REAL ADULTS???

Yeah, 22-year-old, single af, acne-ridden me stood out like a red Sharpie on white jeans. At least, that’s how it felt for the first month and a half.

I’ve learned that you’re not going to be everyone’s best friend, and that’s a-okay.

When you are working in an office, you are going to encounter a lot of different personality types, working types, management types, etc. Working in my office, I was able to learn more about how to interact with these varying characteristics through our programs like Management Matters, the Imposter Syndrome, and Negotiation & Influence. Much like your school years before, you kind of just have to roll with it, and accept everyone as they come, and do your best to be the kindest, shining star that you can be.

It was definitely very hard at times, but it is great to have that reinforced realization that people are different, and have different opinions, and not everyone may like you.

Also, I never realized Bill Lumbergh could actually exist outside of Office Space — which is both hilarious and slightly terrifying.

I’ve learned that technology can be super tricky.

Let me give you a little bit of background: the first time I actually started using a computer full-time, every-day, was when I was 17 and applying for college. Since then, I have been able to learn more and work on my skills with technology, including but not limited to Prezi, Excel shortcuts, Filemaker Pro, and MailChimp (I’m a maverick, what can I say).

However, when I started at VPGE, my skills weren’t exactly the same as what they used on a daily basis. I had to jump in fairly quickly and haphazardly to learn about organizing spreadsheets of 500+ people, creating table tents, utilizing pivot tables, etc., to make sure that our office’s quality stayed the course if not better.

Now, I can positively say that I know more about technology than I did a year-and-a-half ago, and I certainly hope that I can continue to work and improve these skills in my next steps. Also, I have been continually lauded for my quickness in creating reports and documents for my coworkers — so glad to have made that mentality the norm. Typing speed of 80 wpm, baby!

I’ve learned that, often, you just have to make a little bit more effort to find your community, even if that’s not with your direct coworkers.

Yesterday, I saw one of my closest friends from Stanford for one last happy hour drink (or five) before my move to Chicago. In cleaning out my emails, I found the first email conversation we had, where I had asked her to meet up for lunch to discuss her PhD program in English and what her research focuses on.

You see, once I realized that there were a ton of awesome people outside of our office (along with the ones inside the office), I began to be friendlier and reach out more to our graduate students and other campus partners. I am so lucky to have found a great deal of amazing people through our office, and gotten to know and befriend a fair amount of grad students, Stanford employees, and affiliates in the last year and a half. I still interact with the first grad student I ever met, Anthony, who was my hero two weeks ago during my going away party by providing free ice and buckets (seriously, bless him). If not for another one of my graduate students, I would never have met the group that I have volunteered with for the past year, and who have become like a second family.

Honestly, this whole networking thing may suck on paper, but it definitely made my time at Stanford that much more fun and loving and amazing. I could not have asked for a better community.

I’ve learned that some jobs have super awesome perks, and that you should utilize them as much as possible while you can.

If you are ever able to work at a university — especially Stanford University—I would definitely recommend it. Aside from the awesomeness of getting a regular paycheck, health insurance, and some amazing connections, there were so many other perks at Stanford that made me spend the majority of my time on campus, even when I wasn’t at work.

Because there are so many perks, let me just bullet point a few for you below, to give you an idea of what you could get!

• Discounts on fitness classes. Also, free gym access!
• Quarterly festivals for staff, with tons of swag
• Events on campus, including awesome speakers, musicians, etc., for cheap or free
• Access to the library — so many books!
• Transportation passes at free or reduced prices
• Awesome food options for relatively cheap prices

Seriously, it’s a bit like the mentality of Google and Facebook in providing so many perks for employees…but you also get a fair amount of vacation time, and are strongly encouraged to have a work-life balance.

I’ve learned that sometimes, your personality can make all the difference.

In all honesty, I love people. Being super shy and turning into a tomato once in a while can negate that mentality, but I personally find so much joy from meeting new people, getting to know them, and bringing a little more positivity into the world through my interactions with others.

Over the past few days, a lot of my coworkers and graduate students have been reflecting on my time here, and how appreciative they are that I am always so positive and friendly. My attitude has led me to making some great connections, meeting even more people, and getting my tasks done and completed with a greater sense of community and teamwork than before.

Truly, I think my attitude can always be improving — but it seems like the people around me are happy with it as is, which is also good to know.

And, finally, I’ve learned that I’m really, really grateful to have had this opportunity.

This has been one of the most amazing jobs I have and probably ever will have, and I honestly cannot imagine where I’d be without this experience.

Thank you VPGE. Love you 5ever.