My First Job

My first job was as clubhouse secretary at Timber Shores Resort in the Traverse Bay area of Northern Michigan. The clubhouse was at the center of the resort, which had its own restaurant, grocery store, private beach, pool and movie theater.

I worked at the resort the summer between high school and college. What I liked best about the job was the variety of duties I had. Customer relations and financial record keeping were my primary responsibilities, but I also filled in at the reservation call center, which had an antiquated switchboard (think Lily Tomlin as Ernestine) and led sing-alongs on the evening hayrides.

My least favorite part of the job was being the new kid on the block. I remember Memorial Day weekend specifically. Everyone else got to go on holiday, and I was stuck painting traffic posts-those little stumps that stuck out of the ground about 20 inches. Not only was I by myself, but I had a whopping case of homesickness, too. That weekend helped me learn that a positive attitude can take you a long way.

My most memorable moment was having to use my teen EMT [Emergency Medical Technician] certification while working the late shift one night. A co-worker came to the clubhouse dripping wet in her bathing suit, her hand over her mouth. She needed me to tell her whether she had any front teeth. Needless to say, the answer was no. It was a first-aid emergency resulting from a few too many dives into the shallow end of the swimming pool. Now there's a lesson.