Career Education Corporation Part 6: Laptops were stolen

 

Teaching with laptops did not work out as expected. The battery life was supposed to be twelve hours. They didn't last eight.

Weeks if not months after I taught the class with laptops the IT director along with the school's top administrator, I think it was the acting president, stopped by my class. They had an odd look of concern and urgency about them. (I was in the middle of a lecture) The IT director approached as I stood there in the front of my class. He got close, looked me in the eyes and with great discretion asked:

"Do you still know the combination to the cabinet with the laptops”. It was a combination lock utilizing letters in the place of numbers allowing words for combination.
 

I nodded my head (affirming) and said in a whisper "DELL". They were Dell laptops. The combination was simple to remember. 

After I gave the IT director the combination he told me the laptop had been stolen. Someone cut off the lock.

I'd like to think the school, Harrington College i.e. Career Education Corporation, would not consider me a suspect (because I'm not a thief). I was rebuilding my life. I was climbing the ladder of success one rung at a time. No shortcuts. I was in the process of getting an education along with experience and references. I understood the value of networking in the business world. I need a glowing reference from Harrington College when I leave. I need a glowing reference from every company I work for. At times I found myself a slave to my resume. In one small way I thought,:

If I serve my career my career will serve me

I literally am beyond reproach (in my own mind). This is the way I think, this the way I act. This is what I fee l about myself, especially as the words relate to Harrington College. I did an great job teaching while at Harrington. I brought tremendous energy and enthusiasm to my classrooms.

If I do a great job and and represent the school well I have nothing to worry about. Nothing. No Thing.

That was not some of my better thinking.

As it turns out I was NOT above reproach. As it turned out there was an investigation. As it turns out I was a suspect. They found out about my past. The criminal stuff. It may have been reasonable to them that an ex-con would be the most logical suspect, me and the African American network technician. I imagine he was a suspect because he disappeared shortly after the laptops were stolen.

At one point I heard my co-workers discussing my criminal past. This was after the laptops were stolen. The word was out and I was on my way out. I was not long for their world. Not only was I on my way out, I was humiliated in the process.

Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Lots of hard work went into getting that job. Hard work went into keeping that job. All that work and effort flushed down the fucking toilet. It felt that way for a couple of minutes. I felt frustration. There was no getting around it, this part of dealing with a felony conviction.

“This is all my fault. I have no one to blame but myself"

Be that as it may, after I head my co-workers discussing my criminal past I realized I needed to walk out. I felt humiliated. It was one of those OMG moments. I sat down, typed out a letter of resignation stating why I was quitting and printed three or four copies, maybe it was five or six. I put them in envelopes and asked my bosses secretary to deliver them and I left. I gave the security official downstairs my faculty ID card. I think that was December 2006.

There was no getting around it. I was the one that chose trafficking marijuana for a living back in 1984. In one form or another I will continue to deal with my past no matter how much time passes. Sobeit. There are worse things to be dealing with.

The simple fact of the matter is this, I found this job. I’ll find another.

After teaching for Harrington College for a couple of years then being hired by them to build a database and giving me access to sensitive information concerning each faculty member, then being approved for tuition reimbursement for grad school, Harrington College wrote me off the schedule. They found an easy way to dispose of me. No more classes for you...  

I spoke with some lawyers but did not think suing former employers was part of rebuilding my life but it seems obvious, they entered into an agreement with me concerning grad school then went back on their word. That is actionable in court. Leaking out personal information about me to my co-workers is against the law as well.

Had those laptops never been stolen I might still be teaching at Harrington College. They had their hooks in me. The tuition reimbursement agreement I had with Harrington College i.e. Career Education Corporation, was to be paid out over time in future semesters after I completed grad school.

I’d been out of prison about six years or so and made significant progress in rebuilding my life. I’d gone as straight as a person can while seeking acceptance into corporate America as a form of legitimacy as a professional.

Though it was not my goal I felt certain I would be offered a full time faculty position even though I was only teaching one class and I would teach that same class four or five times each semester. Grad school taught me to get involved at work if you are interested in moving up the ladder. ---- I took their advice and it worked like a charm.

What I feel is indisputable about my time at Harrington College is this. I did an excellent job for them. They read the evaluations my students filled out. The president of the school even made a comment about the evaluations posted on-line at rate my professor.com. They had their eyes on me and I enjoyed it because I was doing such a good job for them. I'm a star, you better pay attention to me.

I was able to educate, motivate and inspire the students in my classes at Harrington College. Not many other teachers are as skilled as I am in this regard. That was my ace in the hole.