The day I started at Trexin Consulting I also started a role at a local finance Client in the Twin Cities. Within my time at this Client I planned a wedding, got married, moved to my first home, and am a few weeks shy from promotion to mother. Whew, a lot occurred in three years at this Client. Just like I matured in my personal life, I also matured quite a bit in my professional life.

I would say like a lot of project managers I felt confident in a specific industry or a varied few and was a bit anxious about being green in this new Client, industry, and role. Most of my previous roles had been non-technical and Infrastructure was foreign to me. There was a large learning curve period, and I was certainly challenged throughout my time at the Client. I have now worked on or closed more than 7 projects or programs in various areas and that anxiety and fear was replaced with rolling up the sleeves and digging into whatever came across my desk. I even prefer IT PM roles over others!

I can confidently say I am coming out more well-rounded and certainly a stronger Senior PM because of this challenge and the hard work and dedication put in. But I would be remiss to not acknowledge the people that helped me along the way both at the Client and mentors at Trexin guiding me in the right direction when I needed help. I was able to embrace some hidden technical savvy and learn that no matter the program or project, if you provide strong leadership and exceptional delivery, the rest sorts itself out.

Now reflecting on my last few days at this Client before maternity leave, I find myself feeling a bit nostalgic and sad. I have grown to love my coworkers and feel comfortable in this once new setting. I genuinely care about the people, projects, and success of the account.

The thing I am firmly holding onto is it is not goodbye, but rather I have made professional relationships that will last and continue to grow. I certainly hope to be back if not in the very near future, someday. Working for a customer-centric firm like Trexin means the Client comes first and the door is always open even after you have gone from the day-to-day. I will certainly cross paths with many of these people in such a small family like the Twin Cities and I look forward to catching up with all of them.

There is so much to be thankful and reflective about this time of year, especially in a year like 2020. I am genuinely thankful for my last three years of personal and professional growth, the people I have grown to know, and look forward to whatever comes next.