The Wake Up Call

Deja Cromartie, Owner of Deluxe Publicity

I thought I had everything planned out, and was on top of the world. I’m young; college educated, and was working on my master’s degree all at the age of 22 years old.  I had a slew of internships under my belt, and made some amazing connections too.  I was working at my “dream internship” that I knew would lead to a permanent position, while finishing my last courses in my masters program. All the signs were there, my position kept being extended and I became a resource for my team. 

However, that all changed on Tuesday, May 28, 2013. It was the day after Memorial Day, my supervisor asked me to walk with her to HR. I took a seat and small talk was made with the HR rep, then she turned to her calendar and told me my last day would be this Friday.  She told me that I didn’t do anything wrong, but because I “graduated” that I couldn’t serve work as an intern anymore. It was a bigger slap in the face because the other intern was hired into a full-time position the week before.

The feeling of being “fired”,  and not having a job at the time was an indescribable pain.  It was one of the darkest periods of my life, but this was the wake up call I needed. That day I made a vow to myself that I would never leave my destiny in the hands of another person.  Looking back on that day, I’m grateful it occurred because it gave me the push I needed to start making my dreams come true.