To My 8th Grade Teacher - Thank You

Mrs. Jenkins was my 8th grade teacher - and she did not play! While she had a good heart and a good sense of humor, she expected all her students to do their best. Just one glare from Mrs. Jenkins and  you knew you better shut up and sit down or else! Years later, I realized that it was this teacher's assignment that would define my career path.


The assignment was simple, think about a career that interests you and interview someone in that role. Simple. But not for me. I agonized over what career interested me and who I would interview. I had never thought seriously about what I wanted to do after high school, and now Mrs. Jenkins was forcing me to think about this 4 years early. 


After much thought and with the deadline looming - I settled on interviewing the local news anchor, Tim Lake from Live 5 News. It was something about TV that attracted me, but it was not a prominent thought in my mind, that is, until after I interviewed Tim.


First, I have to be honest, Tim was a very good looking man - blond hair, blue eyes, chiseled face, tanned - my personal Ken doll. So part of my interest was my infatuation with watching this man deliver the news every evening. I called the TV station and asked to speak to Tim. I told the person on the other end that I needed to interview him for a school report. Lo and behold, they said yes! Another interesting note is that my Great-Grand Mother lived two blocks from the TV station, literally a walk in the park.


I don't remember anything that happened up to the interview, but I do remember sitting in a conference room waiting for Mr. Lake to come in. I had my questions written out and was nervous enough for 10 people. Tim was very nice, just as handsome in person, and very warm and encouraging. Leaving the TV station that day, I knew I wanted to be a news anchor. Now, how I would actually accomplish that is another story. I wrote my paper, received a good grade from Mrs. Jenkins, and continued with high school as normal.


That year was probably 1985 when I interviewed Tim Lake, and now in 2012, I wonder where both he and Mrs. Jenkins are. Nevertheless, I ended up in TV, and not that I planned, but because God ordered my steps. The career that I've had this far, I could not have planned, I could not have imagined, and I cannot wait to see what's next.


In closing, I remember I did thank Tim Lake for the interview, but I never thanked Mrs. Jenkins for the assignment. Thank you Mrs. Jenkins, for helping me walk in God's will for my life.