KISD Job Fair

Saturday, April 27

Saturday I went to the Katy ISD Job Fair.  I don't know the correct words to describe how I felt about this whole ordeal.  I had never truly interviewed for a teaching job before.  The school district I am teaching at, I did my student teaching at as well.  So there really wasn't an actual interview process.  They had nine weeks during my student teaching to determine if I was "good enough."  Plus, several people we talked to said Katy was a tough school district to get into.  I printed out several interview questions because I tend to freeze up when I'm put on the spot.  I figured if I could at least get my mind thinking on the line of interview questions then maybe I would have answers to their questions.

After crying most the evening/night before, I really didn't think I was going to get much sleep.  Ha, I slept like a baby!  I woke up that morning and decided I needed to run on the elliptical to help me loosen up a little.  I watched my trash TV episode of the Real Housewives of Orange County.  I thought maybe that would get the "stupid" out of me.  Lol.  I ate some breakfast and looked over more interview questions and talked through them with Andy.  We left the house around noon and arrived at the Merrill Center in Katy around 1:20ish.

There were TONS of people.  I knew there would be a lot of people, but there were more than I had imagined.  Both junior high and high school campuses were present at this job fair, but still it was a lot of people.  Andy dropped me off, and I headed to the door knowing that the fate of our future rested on my shoulders.  Well, not really... I was being a little over-dramatic, but it was all up to God.  I must admit though, my faith was lacking at that moment.  Thankfully, the competitive side of me kicked in, and it was all business once I walked into the building.

The first high school I saw when I walked in was Morton Ranch, and they had several open positions.  Math being one of them.  I stood in line for probably 30 minutes to simply fill out a personnel info sheet just to wait in line again for an interview.  At this point, I was irritated that I was having to wait in so many lines so I didn't really get nervous for an interview.  When they asked if there were any math applicants, I raised my hand and was taken to a side area that had several tables set up with several people being interviewed.  It was a bit overwhelming because I was hoping for something more one-on-one and private.  I sat down with the Math Dept. Head which I thought was a good sign!  We talked for probably 20 minutes.  She really didn't ask me any difficult questions, and when we got done she made a comment that she really liked me.  I knew that had to be a good sign!  Definitely gained some self-confidence after that.

I walked around the arena some more looking for the other high schools.  There were only two other high schools that had math positions available.  One was Cinco Ranch HS, which is apparently the premier school of the district.  I talked to two teachers/staff from Cinco Ranch for about 5-10 minutes, and they said they would be in touch.  I really didn't get as good of a vibe from the them.  The staff seemed a little older, which is fine.  They just weren't as welcoming as Morton Ranch.  I stopped by the Katy HS table even though their math position was tied to a coaching job.  I figured it wouldn't hurt.  I talked with one guy, not sure exactly who he was, but he called over the Math Dept. Head to talk to me as well.  As I was shaking her hand to leave, she made the comment that Katy ISD would greatly benefit from having some like me work in their district.  And she said that she hoped no one else picked me up because she wanted me.  At this point, I was ready to leave.  No other schools had math positions available.

It was about 3:30 when I left, and we headed off to another subdivision to look at a house Andy saw online.  My phone rang around 3:50, and it was a number that I didn't recognize.  I answered it which I rarely do for unknown numbers, and it was the lady from Morton Ranch asking me if I was still at the Merrill Center because she wanted me to meet the principal.  I told her that I had already left but could be back there in ten minutes.  I knew that this could only mean one thing.  They liked me and wanted another interview.  We rushed back, and I got back just in time before they left.  I sat down with the principal, who happened to be an Aggie (whoop!), and the same lady from earlier.  She told me that I was the one person she had remembered all day and that she really wanted me on their staff.  And that's it, they offered me a job.  The principal said he was going to recommend me to the HR Department, which I have no clue what that means.  Is it official?  Are there still more steps I need to take?  It all happened so quickly that I'm not quite sure what to think.

Until tomorrow...