My NSU Story

3:51 AM

The first chords of “Wake Me Up” by Aloe Blanc rudely cut through the morning silence. I reluctantly move my arm from underneath the warm blanket to clumsily reach for my phone to hit the bright orange snooze button. 

4:00 AM

“Feeling my way through the darkness…”

Aloe’s back again; this time there is no snoozing.

I grab my phone and silence the music once again. There is a curly head on the pillow with the Batman pillowcase next to mine. He crawled into my bed around 1AM with his trusty sidekick Chewbacca in tow. I bought him the stuffed Wookiee on a whim one day when he was home sick after I picked his meds in Walgreens. The two fuzzy brown haired friends have been inseparable ever since. We have even bought an extra one just in case something ever happens to the original Chewy. 

Lying next to him is the most beautiful girl in the world. She was up late reading, as she is most nights after I pass out while watching a show on DVR that I swore I was awake enough to finish. She’s one of the strongest people I know, and she’s the glue which holds out little family together. Thanks to her, I get to do a job I love at a place near and dear to my heart. 

This is my story about that place. 

In the fall of 2013, it became clear to me that it was time for a change of scenery on the job front. Through the friend of a friend, I learned of a job opening at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. After a few months (which felt like an eternity), I was hired as the Director of Marketing and Promotions on January 1, 2014. 

I could immediately tell from the very first moment I stepped on campus that this place was different. The people were genuinely nice, and they went out of their way to make the “Tech guy” feel at home and welcome. For the first few months of the job, I commuted two hours each way. My coworkers and members of the community were so gracious to open up their homes to me with a warm bed and a spot to crash on those long nights with an early morning wake up call. 

On March 14, we officially became residents of the Natchitoches Historic District. Our little spot on Williams Street was a cozy two bedroom originally built in 1927. With a dock overlooking Cane River Lake and Downtown Natchitoches less than a mile away, we fully immersed ourselves in our new town. Life was chaotic, as most lives in college athletics are, but it was good. I finally was at a place where I felt included and going to work each day was a rewarding experience. I had amazing coworkers and two incredible bosses who valued me and utilized my strengths instead of seeing them as faults. 

On February 23, 2015, my life was forever changed as we welcomed Davis William McDaniel into the world at 4:53 PM in the midst of an icy snow storm falling outside. I don’t scare easily, but I can easily say that I have been truly terrified twice in my lifetime. The first time was when the nurse handed me my minutes-old baby boy and told me that we were going to walk down the hall. The second was looking in my rear view mirror and seeing an three-day-old infant nestled in his car seat and knowing that we had a two hour drive on icy roads in the snow back to our little house on Williams Street. 

So many firsts happened for us during our time as a family of three in Natchitoches and at NSU. I was able to take two full weeks off with no hassle from my bosses. That spoke volumes of their character and their understanding of how family comes before anything else. 

Davis experienced his first basketball game inside of Prather Coliseum.

I held him in my arms for an inning as I did P.A. during his first baseball game at The B-Stro, and he got his first tastes of football inside Turpin Stadium during the 2015 season. 

Life was great for us in Natchitoches.

I absolutely loved my job in athletics, and I felt like I truly belonged somewhere for the first time in three years. The only issue was Amanda still worked in Ruston three days a week, so we would load the car every Monday morning, and she and Davis would be gone until Thursday afternoon. As time passed and developmental milestones started occurring rapidly, my heart would break each Monday morning as I watched that black Escape pull onto Williams Avenue headed for Ruston. I knew that we needed to make a change, but I was ensure what the future might hold. 

It started off with a phone call from an old and dear friend. 

“Hey, there’s a new job posted on our website you might be interested in.”

Communications Coordinator for Undergraduate Recruitment 

A mouthful of a title, but the job at Louisiana Tech, my Alma Mater, was just the sort of thing I was looking for. I had always hoped to leave athletics when Davis started kindergarten. I was so happy in my role at NSU with no complaints whatsoever, but here was an opportunity to not only work at my Alma Mater, but to officially reunite our little family for all seven days of week. I applied for the job, and after several weeks of the process, I was hired. 

Leaving NSU was and is still one of the hardest things I have ever done.

I really feel like we had built something special in the marketing department, and we had some great momentum rolling. But at the end of the day, I had to do what was best for my family. 

On February 12, 2016, life as Bulldog officially began. Two days later, we would move all of our belongings thanks to the assistance of some wonderful friends, family, and a very kind neighbor to our little house on North Pine Street in Choudrant. 

Life was a major adjustment for everyone. We were not used to each other full time, and there were some growing pains. 

But we were together. 

As I adjusted to my new role in a much slower pace environment, I settled into life with a one year old. Thanks to my new schedule, I was able to do pickups from the sitter in the afternoon. During my first adventure with drop-off, I’m still to this day not sure who cried more, me or Davis. 

Fast forward to December 2017…

I felt like I had finally hit my stride in my new role. Our social media numbers and engagement were at an all-time high, and I had a student media team who had the potential to do absolutely great things. 

On December 8, as we were on our way to Arlington to spend a family weekend seeing the Christmas lights at Enchant, I received a call in the Buccee’s parking lot from my new boss asking me if I could swing by her office. She assured me it was no big deal, and that we could talk first thing Monday morning. 

The following Monday at 8:15 AM, I was lead into a conference room where the University legal counsel sat, and I knew immediately something was wrong. I was given a letter a termination and told me services were no longer needed because “the University was undergoing a restructuring process, and it was irresponsible to keep me on board while that process took place.” 

I was absolutely devastated. All I could about was how I left a job I loved dearly, and now exactly two weeks before Christmas, I was unemployed. I took the news hard, but I eventually became a better person because of it. 

Read about my experience here

I was fortunate to begin working part-time for Barnes and Noble in January. Retail life was different from anything o had ever experienced before. Apparently there is a right way and several wrong ways to fold a sweatshirt. Who knew? 

In February, I picked up another part-time job photographing real estate for the Brasher Group. 

In March, I began my third part-time job and began training to become the pit master at Brister’s Smokehouse. 

On my second day at Brister’s, I finished my lunch shift which had started at 6:30 that morning, and I hurriedly drove to Calhoun to photograph a house in the small amount of time before my afternoon shift started at the Bookstore.

My feet hurt, my back hurt, and I was already exhausted.

I said aloud, “Lord, I need Your strength. I’m not sure how I can do this.”

A few minutes later, my phone buzzed with a text that read, “Call me when you can chat.” 

The next few weeks were a whirlwind of prayers, planning, and anticipation. 

One year ago today, on April 2, 2018, I began my new adventure as the Social Media Director at Northwestern State University. 

4:51 AM

“Anthem for the Year 2000” by Silverchair lets me know that I have nine minutes before I need to leave for work.

One day I will get around to writing about that song and its significance in my life, but for now it will continue to serve as my reminder to be great in all that I do. 

My commute starts at 5AM, and it ends about 15 minutes before 7AM.

Most folks think I am crazy, but I actually enjoy the drive.

Each morning I get to see the sun rise and prepare for my day; afternoons allow me to decompress and be a better husband and father when I walk into the door at home. 

28,399.5 miles

That’s what my trip odometer read this morning as I began my drive; I cleared it one year ago.

Not a single one of those miles has ever felt like a burden.

Each day I get to wake up and go to work at a place that values me and all that I do. I remember what it felt like to wake up unemployed, and now every day I get to do a job I truly love at a place near and dear to my heart.

I love NSU.

I love its students, and I cherish the relationships I have developed with all of the students I work with.

I love my coworkers and our administration.

They truly have taught me what a University family is and how it should feel.

This University is special, and I am blessed and thrilled to be a small part of the amazing things which transpire on our campus on a daily basis. 

That’s my NSU story.

I love this place, and I am grateful to all it has given me. 

Fork ‘em, Demons!