GPA and I are not such good friends. I got my degree in Communication at ASU, which did not have strict GPA requirements. I didn't have much pressure on the GPA front most other college students had. That was intentional.
In my 8-year-young-career, I only had one interviewer ask my GPA. I hesitated and collected my thoughts. Then I took a deep breath. The little pride within me had to step up; I needed to feel accomplished for my 50 hour work weeks and crazy class schedules. For the 7:40am classes I was always late for. For the all-nighters getting homework and papers done after leaving work at 9pm. I explained the course of my college journey and I did it with confidence. With dignity for working my way through college and achieving X as a GPA with the hours I had available to study. For the lessons life gave me juggling so much so young and still smiling about it.
As I left the 33rd floor of a landmark office building in Manhattan's financial district I noticed the richness of the dark wood desks I interviewed infront of. It was a wood I had not had the priviledge of touching before. The newly installed carpet lined the path my heels clumsily tread. Dozens of sky scrapers stared back at me from the other side of windows I passed as I headed to the elevator. I wasn't sure how he took my response. If it was a deal breaker or not. If he was an A student secretly scoffing my efforts to talk-up the notion of being 'average'. I could only walk away knowing I was me. An average grade from an average school. Competing with a job market more complex and intelligent than I could begin to imagine aiming to get their foot into the door I was staring at.
So while it wasn't a stellar set of digits, I still had successful career experiences and made good money. I have a happy life as a mother today. I know in many professions and life paths this magic number means a lot more. There are companies that exist that will not even consider your resume if you didn't go to a certain school and/or get a certain GPA. I applaud such people who reach for that challenge, even more for those that grab it by the horns. I am married to one of those people and admire his efforts and successes for going beyond average with fierce determination.
As for that Manhattan interview, I got the job. It was my first New York job.
Oh, and when I gave birth, they let me take my baby home to be a Mommy without ever asking me what my GPA was.
