The decision for Josh to apply for an Orthodontic Residency was not an easy one. We love living in California and Josh is very happy with his job, but something has always just felt "off". So without thinking too much about what we were about to get ourselves into, we decided to apply. The decision came back in the first week of May. Most schools were starting to accept applications the first week of June so we knew we had to get to work, and we had to do it fast! I think the earliest we ever went to bed during the month of May was 1am. As soon as the kids went to bed, our work began. We wrote a personal statement, a CV, several individual essays for each school, Josh had to study and take the GRE, Josh had to get several letters of recommendation, and we filled out tons of applications! We decided that we were only going to apply once, so we applied to a ton of schools hoping that Josh would get in this year. While researching all of the schools and deciding which ones to apply to we both picked Vanderbilt as our #1 pick. It is only a 26 month program and it is a paid residency, so we wouldn't put ourselves into any additional debt than we already are in. Most schools are a 30-36 month residency and you pay tuition to attend.....meaning more student loans.
At the beginning of September Josh received an invitation to interview at Vanderbilt. We were so excited! He flew out to Nashville on September 26th. When he got there he started texting me pictures. First of the temple and second of Sonic. Two of my top essentials...I could totally live there:) He had a dinner that night with all of the current residents at a fun restaurant downtown. He interviewed with 12 other people and they would accept 3. He was nervous, but he said he felt good about it.
The interview was scheduled for September 27th (his 30th birthday). The interview started at 11am. I was a nervous wreck all morning! I kept staring at my phone waiting for him to call. Around 2pm that afternoon he finally called. The first thing he said to me was "I nailed it!" and soon after he said "so are you ready to move to Nashville?!" He was accepted about 30 minutes after leaving his interview! Most schools are part of what is called the match program. You interview at schools and then you rank the schools and the schools rank you. In December you receive an email informing you of if you matched with a school and where. Because Vanderbilt does not participate in that program, we were able to find out immediatly!
The past 18 months since Josh graduated from USC dental school have been quite the journey. Although we felt really good about taking the job here, once the job started things have never felt "settled." Until now, we were always so confused about why we would be led to a place that wasn't right, yet we felt so good about it. Looking back from a different point of view, I can finally see some of the tender mercies that we were blessed with along the way. Its funny that even though we have not always been planning to go back to school, the work experience that Josh has received thus far has prepared him to be a better applicant for Ortho.
His residency won't start until next Summer so right now he is just continuing to work. Zoie will finish school mid June and then we will probably be out of here soon after. Its hard to think about leaving California. This has been our home for the past 5 years. Zoie was 16 months when we moved here and the boys were both born here. I feel like this is where we grew up and became a real family. We love the city life and everything it has to offer. But the thing we will miss most about California is the beach. I can't even think about it. The kids aren't going to know what to do without a beach a short drive away! Although we are sure going to miss living here, we are SO excited about moving to Nashville! We have heard nothing but great things about Nashville. People usually tell us that it is a great place to raise a family and that we will never want to leave! We can't wait to see what the next adventure in our life will bring!
1 comment:
Congrats! That's so exciting!
Yee-haw :)
Post a Comment