One Week Job's Linda Chase visits the Friends of Tryon Creek

Linda Chase spends Week 42 at Tryon Creek

For the past week Linda Chase has been working with the Friends of Tryon Creek. She is on Week 42 of working 52 jobs in 52 weeks. I sat down with Linda to learn more about the unorthodox path she took to working with the Friends. Here is a nutshell version of her story, as well as some of her words of wisdom…

Linda was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California (and she still yearns for the beach). After attending grad school at the University of Oregon, Linda moved to Portland with her partner Emmett in 1985. They had two children, Laura, who is now 23, and Alec who is 21.

Linda worked in the nonprofit world until getting laid off when the economic downturn hit. She found herself unemployed “for too long” and facing a number of crises, including the loss of her partner to brain cancer; her dog losing a leg to cancer; and her house facing foreclosure. Linda decided to pay her mother a visit in Santa Barbara. On the return flight to Portland she found herself sitting next to Sean Aiken, a dynamic young man sporting dreadlocks.

Sean shared his story about graduating from college and not knowing what he wanted to do with his life. He created the One-Week Job Project, working 52 jobs in 52 weeks in Canada to find his passion and ideal career. Sean and Linda concluded that Linda’s experience was the middle-aged American version of Sean’s. By the end of the flight the two agreed to collaborate on a similar project for Linda.

Initially, Linda thought she might take her 52-week challenge “to follow her passion” to other regions. She realized that her passions – her children (“her heart”), nature, and her animals – were in Portland. This is where she decided to concentrate her effort.

For the past 42 weeks Linda has worked at an incredible variety of different jobs. From working with Guide Dogs for the Blind (a true highlight, for, as Linda observes, “your heart melts seeing a service dog providing such great help to a person”) to helping the owner of Cascade Naturals make tempeh burgers by hand  (the owner is the sole employee and she works 14 hours a day creating a product she loves), Linda has grown and benefited from the experience. What has she learned?

·         Ninety-nine percent of the people she’s worked with love their jobs. This was unexpected.

·         “If it’s not fun, what is the point?” (This realization is beautifully captured in Linda’s blog, “My Song and Dance”.)

·         The greatest discovery she has made was realizing the importance of nurturing a sense of wonder in life: “It is an important part of life, of staying young, and staying engaged in the world around us.”

Linda also shared some advice for finding a path with fulfillment: “Talk to people who do what you love to do and find out how they got started. Spend time with them. Find out if it’s really what you want to do.”

Linda has enjoyed her time working at Tryon Creek and engaging with nature. Spending time at the park has energized her “passion for being green and fostering green spaces and being around people that advocate for the environment. It’s wonderful to get out of the car and be in nature, to experience the wonderful sights, sounds and smells of Tryon Creek State Natural Area.”

What does Linda have in store next? “I don’t know. I’m going to experience things on a weekly basis and it is changing every week…it’s important that there be camaraderie among the team I work with, a connection, chemistry, and a sense of kinship.”

We at Tryon Creek greatly enjoyed having Linda be part of our community. She is inspiring and engaging, and we wish her well on whatever path she chooses next. To learn more about her past and future adventures please visit One Week Job.

-Jessica Sweeney