The grant fairy!

It's Friday and I'm tired as usual and still jobless, but the past couple days I've been working on a project for my work-study job that has helped put the pep back in my step.

We've been accepting applications for Internationalization Grants that range from $700-$8,000. These grants are intended for faculty and staff to help internationalize the curriculum on campus. As assistant to the Vice Provost of Internationalization, I've been responsible for coordinating and organizing the whole process.

This has been going on since January when I sent out the call for proposals: answering questions by phone and email, following up with deans and professors to make sure they follow all the instructions, making spreadsheets, and filing applications. It's been my baby.

Finally this week the grant committee met to make their final decisions. Yesterday I got to be the grant fairy! I got to send out 25 happy emails to each of the grantees with their award notifications. "Here ya go, here's the $8,000 you asked for!" Every time I hit the send button, I felt like a fairy godmother granting a wish for Cinderella before the ball! There were even some very thoughtful thank you notes in reply. Sometimes it feels good to do good! My mother is convinced that one of these people who now associates my name with that pleasantness will hire me. I don't know about all that, but I do know that the process brought a smile to my face multiple times the past couple of days and that's a good feeling these days.