(The picture illustrates what I felt during the following story...it's the best I could do)
I was helping at the Newseum booth at George Washington University career fair, when two separate people asked if the volunteers at the museum were docents. The first time that happened, I kind of mumbled "yes" under my breath and got away with it. I had no idea what they had just asked, but I figured it was something the program offered. The second time I said yes, the other volunteer Howard, bald and 27, heard me. He quickly corrected by saying "actually no, it's not a docent program..." I sat there vacillating between telling him that I thought they had asked if there were door steps or just pretending it didn't happen. I chose the former and made a mental note to look up the word when I got home. To my dismay, the definition is a "person who is a knowledgeable guide, esp. one who conducts visitors through a museum and delivers a commentary on the exhibitions." (dictionary.com) It's pretty embarrassing when you're a volunteer at a museum, and you just learned the word "docent" means a volunteer tour guide at a museum.
I was feeling intimidated already because of the proactive and "go-getter" attitudes at the career fair. If those people aren't getting jobs, then I seriously don't know how I am going to find one...especially because I didn't even know what a docent was. I'll know better next time.
