Let’s start out with an odd yet intriguing fact about me: I love flying! I know what you are thinking. No, I am not capable of flight. Rather aviation is a passion of mine. Since the age of six, my father would take my five siblings and me flying in his airplane. He has been a pilot since his early twenties, and his love of flight ignited mine at a young age. Years later at the age of thirteen, I began taking flight instruction courses in gliders (think airplanes without engines), and it was a phenomenal experience.
Right about now I would be willing to bet that you are probably wondering what in the HE-double-toothpicks any of this has to do with what I am doing here at the University of North Georgia Press. The answer to that question is… nothing.
So, who am I, what am I, and what am I doing here? My name is Josiah Mihok. I am a fifth year senior at the University of North Georgia studying history and marketing and graduating in December of 2015. Three months ago, I never would have anticipated taking a federal work study position. But as fate would have it, a good friend of mine who was soon to be attending graduate school told me about the second job she had working for the UNG Relations Department as a federal work study student. She had my full attention as she explained the position’s main advantages and drawbacks. With the newfound knowledge, I set out to make an opportunity of this federal work study prospect.
After several glitches with the Career Services Department – including one situation where I had to convince a department manager that I was in fact (still) a student and not an alumni – my record was finally reset to “student” status. Immediately, I applied for FWS positions on the Dahlonega campus. It’s funny… In stressful situations, you always have those relatives and friends that say, “Don’t worry. If it’s mean to be, it will all work out.” As a doer, it can be hard for me to have faith in fate. And yet, amazingly and almost seamlessly, I heard back from the University of North Georgia Press. I was hired to do the tasks I love: marketing, brand recognition, and business-to-client establishment.
So you will be seeing a good bit of me around here over the next four months. It’s my last four months of college, and as crazy as that is to think about, I doubt that it will be thought about very much. Because, just like Steve Jobs said, “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.” So here’s to never working!
