Eric Urban A Second Chance at Life E ric Urban is determined to become a
national park ranger–a goal he set his sights on when working at Yellowstone National Park. Majoring in fish and wildlife management at Montana State University, Eric was about to finish his degree and move one step closer to achieving his goal.
However, tragedy struck when his parents had passed away. “That news just threw me off the tracks,” Eric said. “I could not understand how that could possibly have happened. Even now, I have lots of questions, but one thing was for sure, my life went on a downward slide from there.”
Eric dropped out of college so he could travel repeatedly from Montana to Ohio to deal with the details of his parents’ estates. Eric spent almost two years fighting with banks, credit card companies, and insurance companies, but he ended up with next to nothing.
In desperation, Eric was at a jewelry store in downtown Bozeman trying to sell his mother’s jewelry just to make ends meet. That’s when he realized he really needed to get back into the workforce.
But he didn’t know what to do. His parent’s tragic passing scarred him psychologically. He suffered from social anxiety and felt terrified about being in public. His counselor advised him to try temporary work at first.
“I just wanted to dip my toes into the labor pool because I knew I was still too nervous to go for a full-time job,” Eric said. “After leaving the jewelry store, I was walking aimlessly down the streets of Bozeman when I happened to pass by the Express Employment Professionals office. I remember thinking to myself. I ought to give this a try. I told the owners Rina and Greg Donaldson my whole story, and they were immediately very supportive of me.”
The staff at Express managed to ease Eric back into the workforce. They started by offering him only stress-free assignments. If Eric felt at all uncomfortable about a particular job or didn’t like an assignment, he would let Express know right away so they could find him another job. Slowly, by working at various short-term assignments, Eric regained his confidence.
“It was just what I needed,” Eric said. “Not only was the monetary compensation good, but I also began to feel a little bit better each time I successfully completed an assignment. Recently, I’ve been working in the tourism industry where I’m once again greeting the public. Every day, I gain more confidence.”
Eric’s future looks much brighter now. I’m proud to say I think
I’m finally ready to go out and get what I want.
“I finally got tired of pitying myself and realized what a gift life is,” Eric said. “Despite everything that happened, my parents gave me my life and they gave me opportunities to make something of myself. I’m proud to say I think I’m finally ready to go out and get what I want.”
Eric plans to enroll again at Montana State University and eventually complete his degree to become a park ranger. The road ahead may be steep, but he thinks he’ll make it and so does the team at Express.
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