I have an Associate of Arts degree that I earned from Palm Beach Community College. I am currently working on my Bachelor of Arts degree at UTM.

Every semester that I have been in attendance, I have made the Dean’s List. I have also been selected to present a research paper at the upcoming National Sociologist Convention.

I am a licensed cosmetologist. I have owned and managed beauty salons in Florida.

I have worked at preschools and day care centers, having earned my C.D.A. Yet, I was lucky to get a job at McDonalds.

American economists today state that our economy is getting better. We, as a country, are finally able to pull ourselves up by the boot straps out of the economic travesties that have befallen us in the past few years. I do not believe it.

Recently, my family and I moved to my husband's hometown in Tennessee. My husband had been layed off after 16 years of service with US Airways, having been displaced by the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Actually, his displacement was good news. We had wanted to relocate and were excited as we embarked on our new adventure.

Upon arrival into Tennessee, we diligently began our employment search. After six months and no bites, not so much as an interview, my husband decided to open a baseball card store in Milan and create his own employment.

I went back to school and continued my job search. After one year of looking for employment, I finally found it at McDonalds.

Today, there are millions of unemployed individuals in America. I would guess that they are all looking for employment just like me. The government does not seem to be doing much to ease this jobless situation in America. In fact, President Bush has cut unemployment benefits stating that, according to the reports of big business, our nation is recovering since the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

In reality, one of the reasons why big business is finally reporting gains in profit is due to cut backs in human resources-employees. By laying workers off, big business is able to cut back on “expenses.” However, our economy will not reflect gains until the millions of displaced workers finally find employment.

My husband and I have known many people suffering from this unemployment crunch. Not only thousands of airline employees, but many others have suffered as well. One friend has management experience, truck driving experience and college as well. He finally found employment this month after two years of searching. Another person with an MBA was working as a wrestling photographer and had been trying to find employment without success. He committed suicide last month.

Our economy will not truly recover until all displaced workers find employment. In the meantime, a few big businesses are doing their part in the national recovery in this employment crunch.

McDonald’s prides themselves on the diversity of its employees. McDonald’s takes a chance on people when no one else will.

Thank you McDonald’s for taking a chance on a forty-year-old student. Thank you for taking a chance on me.

Theresa Oliver is a senior Communications major from Clarksville, Ind.