It was 2008 and I had been with The Bank of New York for 8 years. The bank was in the process of being acquired by Mellon Bank of Pittsburgh. For me, the transition of my position to Pittsburgh was almost over and I would then take my 6-month package and leave the bank. The timing of this takeover could not have been worse, as Wall Street was in crisis and firms such as Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers would no longer be part of the financial world. Millions of people were out of work and unemployment was at a long time high.
At this point in time I knew I needed to do something different until the economy got back on track, which for me was 3 years later. I managed to use my operations, business and HR skills to volunteer with the hopes of landing a position once I had demonstrated my experience and work ethic. I was successful in doing so; however, I needed to get back in the financial service industry and continued to network and seek other opportunities. This was not easy, as my husband at the time was terminally ill. I managed to land a position with a major financial institution in 2011.
In April of 2012 my husband passed away and I had to deal with getting over the financial burden of his care, my loss of someone I loved deeply and dealing with a new job and its responsibilities. Needless to say all of these life events took their toll on me. I am forever thankful for the love and support of my family and friends.
I continued to commute to New York City on the LIRR and a year and a half after my husband passed, one morning on the platform a conversation was started by a commuter with someone else and somehow I became part of that conversation. That conversation provided an insight into someone’s life when I had only seen and said “good morning” to as a fellow commuter. That someone turned out to be my soulmate, best friend and husband of three years as of July 2018.
It is important to always have faith and keep yourself open to all possibilities. Life events will always challenge us but, as demonstrated in my story staying on track, never giving up hope and seeking support of family and friends will get you through these times.
