Unemployed Mom With MBA Rebuilds Her Life After Hurricane Katrina

In the following excerpt from Arianna Huffington's new book, Third World America, Linda D. Wilson, a human resources professional with an MBA, describes her struggle to rebuild her life and support her two daughters after she lost her New Orleans home to Hurricane Katrina.

Perhaps my story is no different from that of millions of other middle-class workers who are experiencing an enormous test of their faith. I have an MBA and more than twenty-five years of human resources experience. I worked for the same company in Louisiana for twenty-two years. Despite countless layoffs and downsizings, I was either promoted or changed positions every two to three years, expanding my HR skills and knowledge. I can honestly say I never concerned myself with getting a pink slip. I served on local boards and committees, volunteered for good causes, donated to charities, and served at my church. My near-perfect credit score and disposable income allowed me to live with little debt and pay down my mortgage from thirty to seven years.

I overcame a birth defect -- a cleft palate. After surgery, I had to learn to talk again. I attended college on a track scholarship, and in my senior year I competed in the U.S. Olympic Track & Field trials. After that, while working full-time and successfully climbing the corporate ladder, I had an idea for an event planning system. I filed for and received a U.S. patent. However, working full-time in a competitive environment left me with little time to launch a business and new product, so I put it on the back burner. Instead, I focused on a seemingly safer and more stable corporate career path -- guaranteed paychecks, benefits, pension, and a 401(k). Like most other members of the middle class I believed that with enough hard work and determination I would be successful. It was what my parents taught me by example and what they expected me to demonstrate in everything I did.

In 2005, I adopted two girls -- sisters. My ten-year-old was diagnosed with HIV and works extra hard to learn and be successful in school. I set them up with a financial plan and invested in real estate, which I planned to leave them for their inheritance.

Then, Hurricane Katrina destroyed my home and rental properties in New Orleans. My family and friends were displaced and scattered across the country. So after working for the same company for twenty-two years, I resigned and relocated to Texas, along with my parents and five sisters. I put my career on hold to rebuild our lives. Two years later, I'm still unable to land a suitable full-time position (at any level) -- despite more than twenty-five years of expertise.

The world has obviously changed for the middle class. Now the only guarantee that today's worker can expect is that you put in a day's work, you get a day's pay -- that's it.

So, like millions of other middle-class workers, I'm being forced to reexamine my career, lifestyle, priorities, interests, goals, and future. Although I've exhausted my savings and face insurmountable debt, I've decided to step out in faith -- or better yet, take a leap. I'm managing my own business full-time, designing products to help people plan and organize their everyday lives. I'm determined to establish a business as an inheritance for my children.

Editor's note: You can learn more about Evente, Linda's portfolios and business accessories business, here.

How have you been impacted by the financial crisis -- and how are you bouncing back? What are you doing to help prevent America from ever becoming a Third World nation?

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Comments

[Jerome Morrow]

12:25 PM on 09/22/2010

She sounds like an a very determined person and I'm sure she will do fine.

I am probably being a tad cynical, but when she mentioned "despite countless layoffs and downsizings, I was either promoted or changed positions every two to three years, expanding my HR skills and knowledge. I can honestly say I never concerned myself with getting a pink slip", all I could think about was that she was probably an HR person that set a lot of the policies that led to the layoffs.

And typical of an HR person in a big company, she never thought it would happen to her because she was too important.

But I work in a big corporation and I despise the HR people's attitudes when it comes to layoffs. They are pretty much always saying "Heh, that's what happens..."

But it does sound like she has a lot going for her and again, she'll turn out fine...

[KenGirl]

11:50 AM on 09/13/2010

If you are not here to pat Linda's back, your post will be deleted. What kind of openness is this HP? Fox does this on a daily basis and now you? I thought you were real.

[KenGirl]

11:13 AM on 09/13/2010

While I fully understand Linda's plight, there is a big difference between her and millions of Americans. Millions of Americans were laid off after their companies downsized or shut down, she chose to resign her successfull and stable job in order to reassess her priorities (which included relocating to Texas to be with her family). Her unemployment status was her choice, (since she resigned). A very hard choice to make, but her choice all the same. I also do understand that her fully paid home and "rental properties were destroyed" of which I am sure she was adequately covered by property insurance. She was never at risk of being homeless like the stories we read about. This is not a third world story. Third world more aptly refers to those (post Katrina) who were left with no where to go and nothing to do, nothing to survive on, literally lives coming to a halt.

[GloriaY]

01:07 AM on 08/26/2010

Linda, you are one heck of a role model for a lot of people who found themselves in similar situations. Keep the faith. This quotation applies to you. "Anything the human mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve." Perhaps you will be also able to bring at least one person along with you on the journey. Third World? No way. Americans WILL prevail.

[Dana1982]

06:26 PM on 08/17/2010

Well, we asked for change and we got it. People are poor, banks and wall street are still making record profits

Nader - 2012!

[magnoliabird]

04:15 PM on 08/25/2010

Yes, we asked for change. Unfortunately, greed and non-cooperative Republican politicians helped facilitate the current state. Ask yourself, "Why are people poor and banks and Wall Street still making profits? You get two guesses and the first two do not count. Remember, our state of economy downturn and the housing market, auto manufacturers, wall street risk takers, have been operating on luck not sound business sense. And why have they been able to do that? Because our politicians have been turning a deaf ear for years. When the only concern is turning a profit at any cost takes front seat, then you get a mess. Banks, wall street, and real estate market have not given a darn about the impact their practices whould play on the economy as a whole. And no regulations to curb all this because Republicans did not want much government regulations to protect consumers and level the playing field. Now, folks want to blame the current Administration for trying to do something to turn this around. There is no blueprint or past plan to do this. So just like an inventor, you try one thing, and if it does not work you try something else, to get things done. Everyone has an opinion but few have a solution.

[Jerome Morrow]

12:26 PM on 09/22/2010

Hey I'm a Nader voter!

But I would point out that the reason banks and wall street are makign record profits is probably because people keep buying stuff that they don't need and can't afford.

But still... Nader! :)

[missingwmd]

02:24 PM on 08/16/2010

Linda,
You have overcome so much in life and accomplished so much..it's a shame our countries employers do not value people like you with a lot of experience anymore. I know you will overcome this. If you read this try, not to pay attention to posts that will show up telling you what you did wrong after your tragedy...keep your head up.