July | 2010 |

Last Monday, I attended a meeting which had to be one of the most inspirational events I have ever attended. I was invited by a teacher from my organization who had heard I was getting my Masters in Nonprofit Management and wanted my input on this new organization he was helping start. I was honored to be included in the groundwork for this vision and wanted to see what it was about.

When I arrived, I was taken back by the shear number of people who were there to help get this started. The organization is being started by Dia Beshara who serves in the Air Force as a Captain by day and is a DJ/ business owner by night. The organization is trying to build a school for the arts where youth from all over can attend classes for free. The hope is to show students from different walks of life that there are good safe alternatives through music, art and dance which can keep them off the streets.

Dia’s company Absolute Productions already works in the nonprofit sector by providing free shows for nonprofit organizations who are trying to raise money. Dia wants to take it to the next step by providing a learning situation for youth by bringing together dancers, musicians, DJs and artists together to teach the classes for free. Dia calls his network of artists a family and when you first walk in you can truly feel this.

At the beginning of each meeting, Dia has everyone go around and introduce themselves and why they are part of the family. There are chefs, students, architects, security guards, business owners, mothers and many more who lead a “normal” life during the day and come together at night to produce great music and art together. Dia’s passion for this line of work is seen on the faces of these individuals and each of them has bought into his vision for the future.

As I watched two kids (5 and 7 years old) play with turntables, I knew this Air Force pilot was onto something and I want to join him for the ride. Dia is an inspiration to these kids and an inspiration to the over 50 people who attende the meeting that night. During the day, we work to pay the bills and provide for our families but at night is when our true passions and interests come out.

What are you going to do tonight?

In a recent class at Regis, I received an assignment to write my ideal job description. When first approached with this, I thought, wow I can just use the description for my current position. However, as my teacher discussed with us, many times we take a job just to get our foot in the door but the position doesn’t really fit what we want to do in the position. With this statement, I began to think about each of my positions I have had since I graduated from college and my job description for each of them. Looking back, I know that none of them were my ideal job but at that time in my life but they helped pay the bills and helped me get to where I am today.

With this assignment, I have now found that I will do this on a yearly basis to evaluate how the job is lining up to my ideal wishes for my career path. By doing this exercise, I will gain a deeper understanding of whether I am in the right field or not and if I am meeting all the responsibilities written in my job description. This exercise also allows us to evaluate our job description and help the organization fix the areas which are not being met.

How would your own ideal job description compare to your “real” job description? Take some time and try it out for yourself.

Monthly Archives: July 2010

Air Force Pilot By Day

Your Ideal Job Description