I tell everyone I have the best job in my district. After serving as an Assistant Principal and Principal for over 20 years in the great Port Jervis City School District in New York, I’ve been so fortunate to transition into my fourth year as the Director of Communications and Academic Services.
This role puts me in touch with every staff member and every student in the district, and it’s truly a rewarding experience. One of my favorite duties is hosting district podcasts. Last spring, I planned a special episode to interview all the seniors who were going on to play sports in college.
There were 13 students in total. I was so proud of these young people and thrilled for their families to celebrate them playing at the next level. I set up a schedule with 10-minute time slots for each student and asked them to arrive 10 minutes early. I had sent the schedule out multiple times and felt ready to go. However, on the day of the interviews, the schedule became a bit of a mess. Several students were absent, some were called into work early, and others were on field trips. I only wound up talking to about seven of the students. The office staff did their best to wrangle the kids and pull them in earlier when possible, but by the end of the session, I thought we had interviewed everyone who was present in the building that day.
It was a chaotic process, but in the end, it was a great podcast. I concluded the show and began putting away the equipment. I finished up a few other things and was getting ready to leave—about 20 minutes after we stopped, and still 20 minutes before her original start time— a young lady walked in, ready for her slot. She was the final student in the lineup.
My jaw dropped, and my heart sank. I put my hands up and said, “Oh my God, we already finished. I’m so sorry, but the session is over.” She just smiled and said, “No problem, it’s not a big deal.”
She was incredibly gracious about it. I felt terrible, apologized again, and moved on with my day. But as the evening went on and I woke up the next morning, I felt even worse. How could I have not tried harder to get her into an earlier slot? I sent her another apology email. Two hours later, I thought, “You know what? She deserves better,” and I reached out to ask if she would like to come in the following day.
I realized I could just record a separate podcast for her. An hour went by, then two. I started to worry that she was upset and didn’t want to do it, perhaps feeling slighted that I had ended the original session early.
It turned out to be exactly the opposite. She responded so graciously, reiterating that it was no big deal and that she’d be happy to come in. I immediately rescheduled for the next day, and we got her on the air.
What a rockstar this young lady was! We turned a negative into a positive. Because she had her own dedicated timeslot and podcast, she had even more time to talk about her future, her love of sports, and her goals. She shared wonderful stories, recognized the important people in her life, and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation.
The lesson in all of this? This young lady perfectly modeled how to respond to a difficult situation. She could have easily ignored my email, brushed me off, or responded with frustration. Instead, she chose to turn a negative into a positive. This is a perfect example of E + R = O. The “E” (the Event) was that I missed her timeslot. The “O” (the Outcome) is the positive result we all want—and she absolutely nailed the “R.”
The “R” is how we Respond to situations. She did an amazing job on the podcast and handled the mishap with total class.
As I write this, I’m still feeling inspired by her positive attitude and the great vibes she brought to the interview.
Congratulations to her and her family; I wish her all the best as she begins her college career.
Let this be a reminder that life is a series of problem-solving events. When things don’t go our way, we have a choice in how we respond. Let’s strive to respond with positivity and turn every negative into a plus!
Keep surviving and thriving, friends!
