Entry 19: The Final Class

Date: May 7th, 2021

What I did this week: This was a tough week filled with some amazing conversations and events. Most importantly from a professional standpoint, I taught my last two lessons of my career at West Point. Closing up my room after my last student left was definitely a sad moment, but it was an absolute blast to get to do what I’ve done for the last year. Aside from that, this week I got to work with the coaching staff on the rugby team to help restructure the officer representatives in a way that I hope will create some more predictability for all parties. Working with the team has been one of the highlights of my time here, and I hope to leave them in a better place. I also had the opportunity to do some one on one work with students to provide them performance-related feedback, and we were able to talk about some additional ways that I can improve and talk some extra “Army stuff” if they had questions. Those conversations are a blast and I hope to figure out a way to maintain a connection to the academy after I leave.

           On the discussion side, I had the chance to meet with Kayla at TTI to learn about their available assessments, and I made a great connection with Harris at OKA. We actually had some mutual baseball friends from when he played at Lehigh! I also had some killer conversations with Tyler from McKinsey and Will at Pepsi, both of whom are crushing it in their position and provided me some great insights about what it is to work at those companies. Following up some previous meetings, I met with Sheri and Danny to talk more about independent coaching options. I also had the great pleasure to talk with Dale and Myranda (the CEO and President) from Leadership Worth Following to learn more about their incredible organization.

           I’m finishing up the week by attending the Service Academy Career Conference, but in classic over commitment fashion I have 4 calls scheduled during the event. I’m extremely excited to have these discussions and can’t wait to learn more about the people and organizations I’m meeting with.

With all of that said, we overcame one of the biggest hurdles of the transition…we got a house! We did not realize how difficult it would be to get a home, and we feel so fortunate to get something locked in and we’re so excited!!!

 What I’m reading and learned: Definitely a light week and I did not get much reading done. Much of my specific learning this week centered around the people and organizations I’ve had the opportunity to connect with.

Self-reflection(s) of the week: Teaching, or facilitating a group event, is something that I’m realizing more and more gives me energy. I’ve done so many training sessions as an officer throughout my career, but I don’t think I connected the dots between how much I enjoyed it in the past to how that influenced my love for my current role.  

Did I succeed in my previous goal(s)?: I did, however I don’t think I pushed myself hard (and that’s ok by me!). Spending time with Drew’s parents and getting to cook a whole bunch of good food (brining mojo pork and about to start making Cuban bread as I write this) and finishing strong in the classroom was more important than pushing myself too hard on the transition side.  

Goals for next week: Some more big transition events on the horizon, the scariest of which is…CIF turn in. I have 6 bags and a tuff box of gear to turn in sitting in my garage right now, and I hope I cleaned it well enough! I also have a bunch of calls lined up, two finals to administer (and grade), as well as the farewell event for my department. It’s going to be a busy week, so I’m only committing to knocking out the stuff I already have on my calendar!

Inspiration, passion, or excitement of the week: As part of my class, I give my students a “Leader Journal,” which is the typical Army green notebook. I have them write a reflection from every lesson, usually tailored to the lesson and their role in the military. In my final class, I have them fill in a collaborative powerpoint with their leadership tenets, and three key things from their leader journal. Seeing that learning and development come together at once is such a fun experience and something that always inspires me.

Gratitude: This is a big one! Thanks to Kayla and Harris for talking with me about assessments. Thanks to the men’s rugby team for letting me be a part of the program and pitch my idea for org redesign to better support the team going forward. Thanks to Danny and Sheri for our continued discussions. Thanks to Tyler and Will for the awesome talk and advice going forward, you both motivated the hell out of me. Thanks to Dale and Myranda for taking their time to talk with me. Their focus on character and the vision of LWF is truly inspiring. Thanks to Edith our realtor for helping us find a house. Last, and most important this week, thanks to my students. I’ve held some amazing positions while serving in the Army, and many of them have different feelings (platoon leader was most fun, commander was most impactful, TAC was most rewarding). Serving as a military leadership instructor helped me feel all those things at the same time, and it is because of my students who make it fun and go on the adventure with me!

Zach