Irregular Update
From Carrie Givens
Blog: MaidCarolyn.blogspot.com
Facebook: MaidCarolyn

What’s Been Going On?

For the length of time it’s been since my last “irregular update,” I can only apologize and say that I’ll try not to let it happen again. I feel like I’m getting back into the sort of life that lends itself to sending out updates on a more regular basis, but the past two years have been anything but.

Let me show you what I mean:

May 2007 – Left Alaska after two years and flew to Macau, China for two weeks before heading back to Michigan for the summer.
August 2007 – Packed up everything that had made its way down the Al-Can Highway and moved it to Pennsylvania.
September 2007 – Started my Master’s in English with an emphasis in professional and creative writing and teaching at Arcadia University. Began working for Starbucks Coffee Company.
Fall 2007 – Took three full-time courses, worked 30 hours a week at Sbux, worked 4 hrs/wk in the AU Writing Center (WC).
Spring 2008 – Worked 35 hrs/wk at Sbux, 4 hrs/wk in the WC, took three more full-time courses.
Summer 2008 – Took two full-time courses, worked 8 hrs/wk in WC, 35-40 hrs/wk at Sbux where I became a Shift Supervisor.
Fall 2008 – Took three full-time courses, worked 30 hrs/wk at Sbux, 4 hrs/wk in WC, and taught one English Composition course.
Spring 2009 – Researched and wrote my thesis, worked almost 40 hrs/wk at Sbux
May 2009 – Graduated with an MA in English from Arcadia University, planning to continue working at Sbux while looking at possibilities for employment and pursuing publication.

What’s New?

I had planned to spend another year working for Starbucks and exploring writing opportunities. God decided He had different plans.

In May, I met Lisa Weidman, the Communications and Marketing Director at Philadelphia Biblical University. In our conversation she asked me questions about the types of writing courses I took in my program at Arcadia. Her eyes lit up when I told her about the Writing for the Web and New Media course that I took last summer.

A couple weeks later, Lisa and I got together again and she began to pick my brain about my concept of a biblical university. We talked for nearly two hours about how a university should present itself. Concurrently, Lisa was working with a team to reevaluate the entire Communications structure in place at PBU. Basically, an overhaul of the system was needed.

About three weeks after our first meeting, I met with Lisa again and she offered me a position as a Communications Specialist in the new Communications and Marketing Department at PBU.

I accepted the job. Next week I’ll start full-time at PBU, but I’ve been going in a few afternoons to get my feet wet. Rethinking the whole system is going to be a big task, especially as we’re putting together a new team to do so. It will be a challenge, but I’m looking forward to it.

Oh, and meanwhile, I’ll teach two freshman English courses at PBU and possibly a course for home-school high school seniors this fall, too.

Celebrate and Pray with Me:

· Thank God for His provision of a good job in an economy where so many are struggling.

· Praise the Lord for His guidance in the education I received that prepared me adequately for this new position.

· Pray that I’ll find a new apartment. Working at PBU means I’ll daily be in Langhorne, about 40 minutes from where I’m currently living. Therefore, I’m looking for new digs closer to campus.

· Pray for God’s continued provision for my needs, my health, and my energy.

· Pray for the new Communications and Marketing Department at PBU, that we would be able to handle the tasks set before us and that we would be able to communicate the value of a biblical education to the varied audiences PBU reaches.