Achievement Unlocked

So…I’m an MVP now.

I’ve stared at this blank screen for I don’t know how long trying to determine the best way to start this post. I’ve wanted to post since last week. I want to express my gratitude, my disbelief. But all I can keep thinking is “so…I’m an MVP now?” Thank you 4 years of college for a writing degree.

Of course me being me, getting the email notification that I’d been nominated and subsequently selected caused *introspection* to the nth degree.

I moved to Michigan in 2012. 5 years ago when I moved here, I was leaving TFA with no plans of continuing as a teacher. I had background as a candy maker, a 9-1-1 dispatcher, a risk and safety specialist, and a writing degree. I knew no one here. My first job was at Michael’s, making minimum wage and getting up at 4am to unload trucks.

Then came Geek Squad.

Then came Lean and learning all of the things about OTR logistics.

And then came Salesforce.

Like so many before me have experienced, it was a footnote in a job description. After 6 months, I was certified, and after a year, I was starting the West Michigan Women in Tech group.

It’s not like I consciously thought about this. It was a one-thing-led-to-another situation. I found that I enjoyed my work, and I wanted to share what I learned. I met some really great people, so I wanted to offer a place for others to do the same. I saw a vacuum, and I attempted to fill it. Objects in motion will stay in motion, and so forward it has been since then.

To know that what I’ve done has had an impact? It is humbling and rewarding.

The title is cool. I’ve never been most valuable anything, so this is all very new to me. I’ve been struggling with how best to capture all of it. It is overwhelming in the best possible way.

All I can really say is thank you. To everyone. For creating a space where I can contribute, a place that is welcoming to everyone, a career path that I don’t think many of us saw coming. What a welcome surprise Salesforce has been in my life.

I will endeavor to continue doing what I’ve done, offering what I can where I can, in the hopes that it’s helpful or at least entertaining to others out there. And in that way show my gratitude for everything that this platform and this Ohana have given me.