Goodbye 2020… Bring it on, 2021!

(new career pivot news!)

If you’re ready to move on and forget that 2020 ever happened, it’s safe to say, you’re not alone. Whether you were affected by something personally or felt the struggle from afar, this pandemic has likely changed you in some shape or form.

Going into 2020 I felt calm and focused. I had just came off a huge health scare (will share more details in a later post) which granted me some much needed time and space away from the hustle and bustle of the 9-5 workday and allowed me the opportunity to deeply reflect on my career, health, and relationships. Every moment of my [two month] leave felt meaningful and undoubtedly helped me successfully navigate the uncertainty 2020 brought.

Throughout the past year, no matter what challenge came my way, I tried to stay in the moment, breathed deeply (thanks, Siri), and charged forward with compassion and confidence. Together, with my newfound focus and a handful of very wonderful friends, colleagues, mentors, and coaches, I was able to find my groove early on and continued to maintain a balanced, focused, and growth-oriented mindset for the remainder of the year. This outlook and profound energy shift allowed me to easily step into new spaces, try on many different hats, deepen my expertise, and welcomed moments of failure and feedback as opportunities for continued growth.

Boom! Then it happened. While experiencing a state of “flow” at work, I got a “preparation meets opportunity” phone call from a friend who pitched a wild idea, “would you ever consider joining the Sales team at Slalom? I think you'd be a great addition to the team.” As my stomach dropped and my palms began to sweat, to my surprise, my initial response was one of both excitement and nerves followed by a little voice in my head that answered OUT LOUD, “ummm, HELL YES, let's do this!” While I wasn’t exactly sure “how” this was going to happen, every conversation led me to the next, and before I knew it, I realized a lot more people believed in me more than I believed in myself. 

Fast forward a few months. Tomorrow marks the first day I’ll start on my journey as a Sales Executive and Business Development professional at Slalom. While it feels strange and unreal to be moving away from my creative + delivery roots, I know I’ll take my collective learned knowledge, experiences, mentors, coaches, and support system with me as I shift careers and start this new journey. I’m not exactly sure where this road will take me, but I’m forever grateful to the folks who believed in me more than I believed in myself and for the opportunity to learn and grow alongside people I’ve respected and looked up to for so many years.

Special thanks to my Slalom fam (some key names listed below - sorry if I missed you - there are many!) that have guided me throughout the years and pushed me to become who I am today. They have also allowed me to be vulnerable enough to share my most authentic version of myself even while at work and have given me the courage to figure things out in my own "weird way." Ultimately, these relationships and my experiences have collectively inspired my decision to take this giant leap forward and feel safe while doing it. Stay tuned for updates, lessons learned, and ways to get involved (if you want!). And of course, thank you all for your continued friendship, support, and guidance. Bring it on, 2021!

Shameless plug → Have a new business idea or problem you're trying to solve for? Let me and Slalom help you bring that idea to life! (Bonus points if it’s in the Finance, Insurance, or Real-estate spaces)

Special shout-out and thanks to these monumental folks who have guided me [in small and big ways] throughout my years at Slalom:

Matt Kiesling, Annie Rolfe, Imran Kareem, Molly Stephens, Shawn Thedos, Luc Gerdes, Tom Donlon, Jodan Maida, John Hundson, Rob Toro, Andrea Hack, Karen MacKay, Monica King, Sam Porras, Rachel Huvard, Katie Chandler, Jamie White, Osmaan Akhtar, Nadia El Ayoubi, Jason Schwartz, Jessica Glennon, Ryn Manby, Marshall Samba-Green, Sal Bola?os, Ryan Dampf, Terrence Williams, Kelly Early, Shelby Bower, Brandon Tone, Caylie (Rentsch) Wells, Morgan Weller, Melissa Souto, Taj Reid, Jessie Blank, Ronnie Battista, Michael Zaspel, Sam Shelby, Nina Cohen, Kate Hertler, Sharon Wei, Pennie Mertzelos, Shea Hammons, Gabe Tobel, Emily (Shulman) Marder, Andrew Damen, Kelsey Crawford, Natalie Resteghene, Jeff Stephenson, Nadia Pescosolido, Alia (Barbouche) Vice, Sarah Korf, Jared Toporek, Alex Zinicola, Caleb Catalano, Kim Taylor, Dr. Flo Falayi, Dana Anderson, Miheer Munjal, Brian Fahey, Dan Basset, Tito Gosh, Anna Morris, Jimmy Samartzis, John Busby, Vik Sharma, Johanna DeYoung, Rob Wakerly, Alex Yates, Andy Bilhorn, Chris Mendoza, Marian Cook, Alexandra Roman, Ryan Godlewski, Rohan Anand, Kevin Chaplin, Nathan Larson, Maeve Holland, Katya Siddall, Shail Shah, Alyson Wallach, Kelly Hummel, Bill Sheridan, Katie Morris, Jaime Lannon Diglio, Amber Heinrich, Laurice Shelven Adegunwa, Ali Minnick, Carrie Steyer, my entire XD crew (near and far), and many many more!