The Puzzle Pieces of Life
Rev. Jermaine L. Pearson
Associate Chaplain of the University for the Protestant Community
As I prepare to embark on a new professional endeavor that will take me thousands of miles across the world, I must reflect on my journey of getting to Brown University.

In the fall of 2016, I was literally at one of the lowest points in my life. While all my friends were excited about being installed as pastors or starting doctoral programs, I had been rejected from every higher education position I applied to that year. Earlier that year, I had applied for the position of Assistant Director at the Brown Center for Students of Color at Brown University. This would be one of at least 50 jobs that I never made past the initial screening. 

After passing on a job that did not even provide benefits in Atlanta and couch hopping, I decided to return home to Chicago and move back to my childhood home. I figured even if I was unemployed, I could still get a home-cooked meal every day from my parents. This was such a humbling experience. Here I was, 32 years old, with a master's degree from Emory University, driving for Uber full-time while living in my parents’ attic, the same room I lived in prior to going to college. By happenstance, I applied to several positions in campus ministry at various private schools across the city and the next day, I immediately received an interview for a job at one of them. In December 2016, I ended up being offered a position as the Outreach Campus Minister for a University that I won’t name. I was so excited, I was finally working in my field and after literally a year of being on the job market, I was gainfully employed. 
In March of 2017, I slowly had the realization that I was not going to make it in that job for long. Although I loved the mission of the institution and the students were wonderful, my department constantly felt like I was in an episode of The Office. Additionally, my winter commute from the Southside of Chicago to the far Northside became taxing as I avoided two fatal car accidents by mere seconds. After commencement season, I set my sights on securing another job in Chicago. I thought I liked Chicago in my early 20’s as a broke college student, but I absolutely loved Chicago as a working adult with a decent paycheck. 
Then one day, in July of 2017, I randomly came across an Indeed posting for the Interim Associate Chaplain for the Protestant Community at Brown University. I saw the position and forwarded the job description to a friend in ministry and encouraged him to apply. I, for one, had just gotten reacclimated to Chicago, and Chicago summers were great. Additionally, I thought to myself, “Why would I apply to an institution that rejected me just a year prior?” So I went on vacation, going to enjoy my Eat, Pray, Love, solo trip to Cuba. But as I’m sleeping in my rented room, something wakes me out of my sleep and tells me to go look at Brown’s website and the job description again. I go to the wifi park at night (because wifi is not readily available in Cuba), pull up the job and this Protestant Chaplaincy position was everything I had been looking and yearning for. It spoke to my soul and called me by name. I said to myself, “Jermaine this is your job!" I vowed that if the position was still open when I returned home the following week, I was going to apply. 

Suffice to say, I applied, interviewed, and was verbally offered the position only a month later. In September 2017, just after a year of being unemployed, driving for Uber, and living in my parent’s attic, I became the Associate University Chaplain at this historic and elite institution. Who would have foreshadowed that an interim position would turn into a four-and-a-half-year stint and would be the longest job I would have ever held in my professional career? 

Why do I share this narrative? Well for one, I believe we can connect to each other through our narratives. Additionally, there are three major takeaways I would like to leave with you.

  1. Do not stay in a relationship (professional or personal) if it is no longer serving you: I could have worried about what people might have said of me leaving that job in Chicago after only seven months. I could’ve been concerned how that might have looked on my resume moving forward. However, I had to do what was best for me. Moreover, I would have missed out on my blessing of being at Brown if I didn’t have the courage to leave or cared about what others thought about my move.
  2. Do not let your past rejections or failures stop you from moving forward in life: I could have given into my fear of rejection from Brown the previous year. This fear could’ve prevented me from applying to the chaplaincy role, but I pushed past my own fears and applied anyway. I’m glad I did not let the fear and anxiety get to me, or I would have missed out on this wonderful chaplaincy opportunity to have an impact on so many students, staff, and faculty.
  3. Do not get too comfortable: I was happy to be back in Chicago. Chicago was my home. Brown University was a risk because it was an interim position and there was no guarantee that I would be offered the permanent role in the OCRL. Additionally, Providence was the first city I moved to where I did not have any friends or family. Yet, almost five years later, I have a ton of friends and extended family in the Providence and Boston areas. Never be afraid to take a risk because life truly begins outside of one’s comfort zone.

In closing, I want to posit that life is like a puzzle. You can see the vision on the box, but there are no instructions to tell you how to build your puzzle. For some, it may take a day, for others it may take years to finish their puzzles. You will try some pieces, and they may not fit. And that’s okay, but you must keep working on your puzzle, corner by corner, piece by piece, until you get the picture that you envision for yourself. I pray that you never stop dreaming, never stop working on you, and never stop working on your life’s puzzle. Amen.

With love and sincere gratitude,
Rev. Jermaine L. Pearson, MDiv
Rev. Jermaine L. Pearson, MDiv.
Jermaine Pearson has served as the Associate Chaplains of the University for the Protestant Community at Brown University for the past four and a half years. He invites you to stay connected as he pursues the next step of his journey.
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