It was my Senior year and I had signed up for all my classes. The perfect schedule, or so I thought. The first day of school I was summoned to the Guidance Department where I was informed that my schedule didn't work for them and some changes were necessary. The biggest obstacle? They couldn't find a class for me during fourth period. The only thing available was "Secretarial Procedures".
In those days, you either took college prep classes or classes designed to train you for a secretarial career. Knowing I was college prep, the counselor felt bad that a secretarial course was all she could offer me, but there really was no other choice. Who is the teacher for this course I enquired? Mrs. Tischer, my former typing teacher, I was informed. Oh thank goodness, I thought. Mrs. T was very familiar with my struggles to conquer typing. I spent countless lunch periods repeatedly typing page 5 of the term paper we had as our final. That was the page where you had to indent and single space a short paragraph. It was a nightmare, but I digress.
So at the ring of the bell for fourth period, I walked into the Secretarial Procedures class with some trepidation. I knew the other students had been together for a couple of years, learning shorthand and advanced typing, etc. Mrs. Tischer, bless her, explained to the girls that this class was not my first choice, and she asked everyone to be patient with me as I tried to catch on. We were given our textbook, Clerical Office Procedures, and as you can see, I still have it. It became a sort of Bible for me.
Much to my surprise, and Mrs. Tischer's I suspect, I loved the class! I enjoyed working on the tasks we were assigned, the neat and tidy aspect of it all. The information all seemed to make sense and I could see how useful it could be. My fellow secretaries were extremely supportive, as was Mrs. Tischer. The payoff was just a few years ahead.....
When I graduated college I had a degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Early Childhood. That was the good news. The bad? There were no teaching jobs to be found, at least for me. My first job was in the restaurant industry - a story for another time. Sharing an apartment with my former roommate from college, I needed to find something that would pay better. So I sought out an employment agency, hoping they could advise me.
My degree was all well and good, the employment agency lady said, but what practical skills did I have for office work? Then I remembered my secretarial class. The lady behind the desk seemed to think it might be enough to get me an interview somewhere, so it was listed on my resume, along with a slightly exaggerated description of my typing skills. She advised me to smile a lot if I landed any interviews!
I did eventually find my way into an advertising agency where I worked first as a receptionist and then as an assistant to one of the buyers. While I didn't feel it was my dream job, it paid enough for me to make rent each month and eat.
In the years since, I have found myself picking up my old textbook frequently to check on the proper way to write letterheads, address envelopes, file, keep financial records, and more. The information I learned proved an invaluable asset when I was teaching. It also aided me when one of my daughters would seek my assistance while working on a paper for school.
As it turned out, having no options for fourth period was actually a blessing.
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