2024: Year-End Reflection

Now that 2024 has reached an end, most of us are reflecting on what we experienced, achieved, survived, and built throughout this year. I can safely say that despite some challenges in these final weeks, 2024 has been the best year of my (adult) life. I've traveled extensively, achieved several milestones, grown as a professional, strengthened my bonds with my alma mater, made new friends, invested in my mental and physical wellness, reconnected with family members, and had a whole bunch of fun. Here are some key highlights broken down by category:

Professional

• Took ownership of highly visible projects, including my team's Business Review and Accounting Reconciliation process. These deliverables allowed me to take a more consultative approach to my workflows, rather than just being a human calculator operating in a vacuum. Thanks to Anubhav Garg for giving me opportunities to grow.
• Learned a great deal about creating and managing relationships for business development purposes. Thanks to Luis Del Muro for his leadership and for letting me walk part of that journey with him.
• Audited training classes for new-hires, where I saw just how professionally James Rannigan and his team cultivate talent and passion for our on-the-field technicians, many of whom come to us without much prior industry experience.
• Joined the Wellness Committee and had a blast focusing on holistic people care: from volunteer events to movie nights, art workshops, and our company picnic, I had so much fun taking a more human-centric approach to my work. Thanks to Allie Heiner, SHRM-CP and Samantha G. for spearheading our Wellness program.
• Led efforts within my team to more overtly recognize people for their accomplishments and life transitions. I read a LinkedIn post once from Nathan Harlan, MSM. in which he discussed how doing simple things like buying pizza for your team can be a powerful way for Leaders to show that they care. I worked to embody that principle this year, sometimes by spending a few dollars to make people happy, but mostly by being generous with my time.
• Learned that Leadership and Management are two different things. Strong leaders are often poor managers and skilled managers are often lacking in leadership. I feel like Kris Muir already taught me this, but oftentimes life experiences solidify our classroom learnings.

University of Notre Dame / YoungND Regional Director / Proud Alumnus / Crazy Person (?)

• Helped launch YoungND's inaugural faith-based program, "YoungND Faithful", with support from Iliana Contreras , Megan Irving, PE , Angeline Johnson , Daniel Allen , Nicole Fantozzi , and my committee co-leaders, Ben Bryan and Alexis Forte . It was an amazing experience!
• Was invited to be the alumni speaker during the Golden Generations dinner for First-Gen, Low-Income (FGLI) students at Notre Dame. It really made my entire year to get to meet and speak with current Domers who are walking a path that is very familiar to me. Cheyenne Stewart and Sophonie Alcindor , who invited me, are inspirational leaders and I want to be just like them when I grow up. I'm so proud to be part of this community: We are ND!
• Attended my third AALC Conference and helped the YoungND Board execute our re-tooled Home After Dome event, which was a smashing success thanks to Iliana Contreras , Megan Irving, PE , and unwavering support from Dolly Duffy and her team. I was even allowed to count attendees as they arrived in waves. (God, I love counting things.)
• Attended the Fall Groups Meeting, which culminated in the home-opener and, coincidentally, also my birthday. It was a real treat to attend the Diversity Tailgate and have dozens of alumni and NDAA staff offer their birthday wishes. I'll never forget it!
• Reconnected with Dan Yu and even attended one his workshops through FutureProof You . Dan is a wonderful mentor and a proud Domer.
• Launched the second faith-based program in October to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. This was a really special month filled with faith and fellowship. Thanks to Alexis Forte and Ben Bryan for leading the planning and making it a fun month.
• Flew to Palm Springs, California, to see Abbey (Johnson) Sheldon deliver a UND Celebration lecture and to participate in Palm Springs' annual Pride Parade along with the ND Club of Palm Springs. Club President and my mentor, friend, and "guy I want to be like someday", Tom Bowsher, arranged the entire trip for me and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. Tom's gift to me wasn't just the trip itself, but rather his encouragement to tackle new challenges with courage, conviction, and -- importantly! -- with a smile . . . because life is fun, after all. (Palm trees help.)
• Attended the Shamrock Series in New York and went to our YoungND event, Bowling is Thy Fame, in Times Square. Rachael Ann Biscocho did such an amazing job running the event and I reconnected with Tom Bowsher, Mike Sullivan , Abbey (Johnson) Sheldon , Daniel Allen , and many others.
• Traveled to Boston to attend the ND Club of Greater Boston's annual Christmas Mass & Brunch, where Jack Bergen and Kathleen Bligh Yoh surprised me with Alumnus of the Year -- an accolade that I certainly don't deserve, but one that I will cherish forever. Jack also showed me all around the North End. I think the coolest things I saw were the Old North Church (where Paul Revere famously signaled "one if by land, two if by sea") and the USS Constitution. Thank you to Jack & Dave, Kathleen, Christina Zoldak , and all my pals back in Boston!

Personal Growth

• Began regular therapy for OCD treatment.
• Got my driver's license and bought my first car. Thanks to Cathy Cui for selling me her Corolla. 20,000 miles in the first 4 months of owning the vehicle -- I've enjoyed many road trips and only exploded 4 tires by smashing into curbs.
• Saw my parents for the first time in over 4 years. It was a celebratory reunion.
• Flew to Atlanta, GA to see Promise Choice and her husband, Carlos, renew their wedding vows. PC was my first friend at Notre Dame and I'm lucky that our friendship has continued for over 10 years! All ND undergraduates looking to make lasting friendships should take BIO 10119: Evolution & Society. It worked for me.
• Went to around ~15 concerts (!!).
• Hiked many hundreds of miles throughout Indiana's park system. I can confirm that an annual park pass is worth it many times over.
• Visited Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, California, Minnesota, and probably other states that I'm forgetting
• I met WILLIAM SHATNER at FanExpo Chicago. That's right, I said "met" -- as in, I took pictures and had stuff signed. I spoke words to him and he spoke words back to me. I can die happily now.
• Speaking of dying, I also received a complete round of rabies shots to avoid dying from rabies (dog attack) and then had my first ever case of food poisoning. But I'm still standing!

Other highlights included bumping into Emily Voorde at tailgates and all over South Bend (mostly on purpose); reading several good books; overcoming my OCD-related phobia of eating certain foods (only to later be punished with the aforementioned food poisoning); and continuing to live a very quaint and sometimes strange-looking life that is as consistent with my "authentic self" as possible.

Here's to an even better 2025. Cheers & Go Irish!