Toni Carr: When The Job Finds You

I remember my life before coming to Global Ties Arkansas. It was a life I loved, though not the life I have come to love. I began my career as an Early Childhood educator. I always found myself motivated by the lives of children around me to improve the world through education. I worked for the government funded Head Start Program and the Public Schools in Norman, Oklahoma as a teacher of children ages 4 to first grade.

In 1988, I was privileged to be a part of an innovative Early Childhood Special Education Pre-K classroom in Clayton, New Mexico. The district wanted to be a leader in the state before the federal mandate for public schools regarding young children with disabilities became law in 1990. I had the freedom to create the classroom, best practices, and establish the small town of Clayton as a model for other programs in New Mexico and nationally. This program was nationally recognized by The Ohio State University in a national study. My involvement with the Clayton program led me to a position as the first Director of a nine-school district cooperative in Richland County, Ohio. Luckily, my husband Jim (who had owned a successful construction company in Oklahoma for years) had accepted a position in the Construction Management Department of The Ohio State University. As a result, I was able to accept this new challenge! I worked with these classrooms for several years before branching out into yet another endeavor. I took the position as the department head of early childhood programs at a small college in Ohio; my job was to train other prospective teachers.

Although Jim and I raised our children in Oklahoma and Ohio, another great adventure was written in the stars. Jim accepted a position at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. I continued my early childhood practice as an evaluator and mentor through Arkansas State University for state funded early childhood programs and became an adjunct professor at UA-Pulaski Tech.

While attending a function at the Clinton Presidential Center, I was honored to meet an amazing man, Dr. Walter Nunn. He spoke of the work he had been doing with international visitors through the US Department of State. His descriptions were filled with intrigue, adventure, and transnational cooperation. He spoke highly of the professionals he worked with from our local and other international communities. Jim and I exchanged glances followed by an “Okay, Jim. What do you think?” There is one thing that we have always shared and that is our love for international travel. What better way to interact with other cultures than to work as a volunteer with this group?”

We were hooked! Jim and I provided home stays for weeklong visitors and hosted more than our share of dinners and parties for short term visitors. After I stopped working full time, I called Dr. Nunn and said that I could expand my volunteering. He put me to work right away planning a week-long program for Iraqi youth. And so, it began…

After a few years of working as a part time staff writing itineraries for programs, Dr. Nunn came to me to say that he was ready to retire and wanted me to take his place. Of course, I told him NO! I had worked for years in administration and was just ready for the fun part! Obviously, he won that battle and I was interviewed with the Board and accepted the position as Director. That was about 8 years ago, and it was a great choice! This job means so much to me.

At first, I felt like I had deserted my first passion of education. But over time, I have come to realize that being a citizen diplomat is one of the most important education jobs I have ever held. I have learned so much about other cultures and have tried to convey what it is like to be an American to so many visitors. Arkansas is what we call “real America”. We are so similar to our visitors in so many ways. Introducing visitors to regular people who have similar concerns: family, finances, government and so on, and making them realize that we are pretty good folks is one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of my education career!

Ra'phael Davis: When The Job Finds You

Written by Ra'phael Davis

There are few things in this world that I think are meant to be, and I think working for Global Ties is one of them.

I first came to Global Ties Arkansas in January of 2020 as a soon-to-graduate Philosophy and International Studies major from U of A Little Rock. I was already working for a nonprofit that worked with mental health in the African American community because I could approach the job with a human rights lens. I was also working for an international marketing strategies company because the two jobs together was a full-time schedule; surely I could pay the bills from there. However, one month at the international marketing research company helped me realize that I was missing one thing: quality human interaction.

At the beginning of January, I spent one of my off days getting back on the job market. I knew I would keep the nonprofit job, but I set out in search of another job that let me be creative to replace the marketing one, work in the international community, and meet amazing people from whom I would learn new perspectives and culture. As I sat at a desk in the School of Public Affairs, the Interim Chair at the time walked to me and asked me how everything was going.

"Honestly," I said, "I am back on the job search because I've found out my marketing research job isn't a great fit for me".

Her eyes widened and, without hesitation, she ran to her desk as she yelled, "I'll be right back!". She sent me an email with the contact information for Global Ties Arkansas followed by a quick response that the Director was vacationing in the mountains; she'd interview me when she returned.

What were the chances that on the day I was off, sitting at the right place at the right time a job interview would fall in my lap? Some call it coincidence, some call it providence. Whichever it was, I was grateful and I could only pray that the interview would result in a job offer.

On Monday, January 14th, I worked from 8am to 2pm awaiting the interview at 3:30pm with Toni and Tommy. I was reviewing the organization's history and programs, mentally reviewing the most commonly asked interview questions, and thinking of what I would do if the interviewers asked what my plan for the next 5, 10, or 20 years was. By the way, did you know it's best to show that you are interested in learning and growing even that far into the future?

The interview room was exactly eight minutes from where I worked. After my shift, I jumped in my car, changed my clothes, and drove to the interview. I was nearly 45 minutes early when I arrived. Although one might presume that Toni and Tommy would have still been interviewing someone when I got there, the room was empty. We started the interview at 3:00pm and we didn't leave until it was almost 5:30pm.

I left that interview feeling good. Toni, Tommy, and I talked for those 2.5 hours sharing stories with each other. Toni told me about the times her and her husband, Jim, took a group of construction students to China. (We call her husband Superhero Jim because he beat a group of young Ukrainians and myself hiking up Pinnacle Mountain in his 70s.) Tommy told me about his favorite foods that he had tried from various countries in Latin America. I told them about my recent adventures to Morocco and the Netherlands. I felt like I was talking to friends instead of interviewers. It wasn't at all that they were unprofessional: I think we were just kindred spirits.

However, a week went by before I heard anything. In that waiting time my marketing job had already begun laying off workers because the advanced technology the companies we contracted with had eliminated the need for research interviewers like myself. I had just bought a new car because I had the income to do it. And what was I going to do between then and the time I officially graduated. Then, on January 20th, I got the following email:

The best part was that the day after I got this email, I found out that I could come work for Global Ties Arkansas immediately and didn't need a two-week notice because the rest of the month for the marketing job had become optional-- signaling that there was not enough work for employees to do. So I went to work! One thing was certain. I had learned that I didn't want a job where I sat in front of a computer screen only making calls for six to eight hours a day while I stared at a blue and black screen. I wanted to find a job that would allow me to make meaningful global connections and learn from the diversity of intellectual, professional, and cultural thought that existed in the world. But I got lucky: my job found me.