16 July 2012

And Now for Something Completely Different

As you all probably know, Ryan was hired by our church to teach Seminary last fall. (to learn more about Seminary, click the link.) As an employee of Seminaries and Institutes, Ryan has a few career paths he could head down. In Utah and a few other places, he would have the option of teaching Seminary full-time. Outside of Utah, he could coordinate volunteer Seminary teachers and teach at an Institute (for college-level students). To do that, however, you must have a Master's degree and several years experience teaching Seminary. While we were visiting Ryan's family in Colorado, a position opened up at the Institute at the University of Wyoming, in Laramie. We joked around about it, and Ryan applied, even though he doesn't have a Master's or even a full year of experience teaching.
Friday night we got a phone call asking us to take the position.
We were absolutely dumbfounded. On paper, Ryan wasn't at all qualified for the position. We were told, however, that the people responsible for making the hiring decision had felt very strongly that Ryan was the person who needed to be out there, even over other applicants with Master's degrees and experience. We feel very honored and blessed that they have so much confidence and trust in Ryan. He really does try his absolute best as a teacher, always thinking about his students and how he can help them. We took the weekend to think and pray about it, and we made sure to attend the temple to feel that greater clarity of mind. Even though Laramie is not the "ideal location" for us (no offense, Wyoming), the job is exactly what Ryan wants to be doing, and an opportunity like this probably won't come along again for several years.
By this time next month, we'll be in Wyoming! Ryan's work is paying for him to go out and find a place for us to live, they are paying for our move (including the moving company packing for us), and they are even giving us a little bonus to cover unforeseen expenses. It's all happening very quickly. The boys and I are going out to New Mexico for 10 days to visit my family, so we have very little time left in Salt Lake. I've got a long list of things I want to do before we leave!
Look out, Laramie. The Reynolds Tribe is coming to town.

5 comments:

Abigail said...

I am so happy for you!!!! Love reading posts that give me Goosebumps :)

Jenn and Kylann said...

I'm not surprised that Ryan got the position. I have always been very impressed by his spiritual side. He's always been an example to me. Congratulations guys!! SO happy for you!! I hope we can find the time to meet up in the short amount of time you guys have left. I'd love to meet you, Kara. And of course your two adorable boys! Good luck to you guys!

Katie Boyack said...

Kara, I'm so happy for you guys! That's a pretty amazing story. I'm really going to miss our visits though, I look forward to them every time I'm in Utah. :( You will for sure have to forward your address to me, maybe we could go old school and be pen pals! :)
Good luck with everything!
Katie Boyack

mary plus vince said...

congrats!! this is so exciting, good luck with the move!

Andrew said...

We'll be sad to see you go, but what a sweet gig! I've only spent a little time there, but Laramie is a pretty cool town.