Adjusting to Change
As any military family knows, there’s always so much change. New units, new cities, and new families to get to know. My marriage changed, too. After a couple years in Florida, I separated from my ex-husband, packed up my car with my two girls, and drove back to California.
On the cross-country drive, I had a lot of time to think about our future. I was reminded of how diverse the Bay Area is, and how lucky I was to grow up in a place that had such a rich culture. As a mom of two biracial daughters, I knew I wanted to raise them in a place that exposed my daughters to all types of cultures, backgrounds, and people. And I knew, eventually, I wanted to get back to my career in marketing.
Finding an Opportunity
It’s no secret the Bay Area is an incredibly expensive place to live, and the cost of living had significantly increased since I’d left 14 years earlier. I kept telling myself to have faith, and trust that God would make it happen.
I ended up moving to the Central Valley, which is less expensive than the Bay Area. I wanted to wait until my youngest was in kindergarten to find a job, and it was difficult to make ends meet relying on my savings and child care allowance.
I often looked for career opportunities online. I knew I needed not just a job, but a well-paying career that would allow me to provide for my girls. I wanted a career in the creative field. But the listings I would come across were never enough to cover living expenses plus childcare costs.
But then, one of those miraculous things happened. I saw the job posting for the Workday Returnship Program. It was a four-month opportunity, with the potential to convert to full-time if I performed well. It was a graphic design position—and honestly, it felt like fate.
I applied, and then interviewed. Two hours after my interview, the recruiter called with an offer, and I accepted. On a leap of faith, I moved our family to Pleasanton—the community I had left almost 15 years earlier—to start my new career that afforded me the opportunity to live in the Bay Area.
A New Chapter
The fact that Workday wanted to hire me was so validating —and I couldn’t believe that a program like the Returnship Program existed. Here was a company with a program that focused on hiring talented parents and caregivers who have resume gaps, and who have been out of the corporate workforce, but have still been building their skills and their resumes, just in an untraditional way. From the very beginning, I felt valued—and I felt like I belonged.