Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Say goodbye, say hello

I said goodbye to Northwestern this month, starting a new gift planning job at Saint Mary's College (remote from Chicago, the college is in Indiana).

It was hard to leave a safe, comfortable, enjoyable position at Northwestern, but I was ready for a challenge.

I said goodbye to my coworkers in dozens of ways. First was a nice lunch visit to Andy's Custard in Evanston for a key lime concrete. Another few coworkers in this photo were also in job transitions, either within or outside of NU.

A once a year visit to Andy's is worth the calories.
I also got to attend an old coworker's wedding at ISU - my own alma mater - in August, so of course we NU gals had a great time.

Only my second time in the football stadium, ha ha.
Dave and I are pretty cute also. It happens that one of the folks attending the wedding also recently transitioned to a small development team, so we talked about what that meant for our careers and how it enables us to position ourselves as leaders. 

I have been long wanting to move to a smaller shop than NU to take the things I have learned at NU and make a big impact on a smaller nonprofit. Veronica has been doing the same, and as I write this, I am beginning to do that for Saint Mary's!

I have some more photos of me in my last weeks at Northwestern. Here's my standing desk set-up; you can't see it too well from this shot, but my desk is propped up by banker's boxes, creating a free standing desk situation. 

Here's me in the atrium in my last week - actually, that might have been my last day. The atrium is where we held all kinds of staff engagement and learning events, including my talent show and, less prestigiously but just as important, the annual Christmas cookie exchange.

I got there early that day - it's not usually that quiet!
In my last week, my coworkers really sent me off in style. One coworker made a peach pie, others got me presents or said goodbye in their own way, and many of them signed a book with advice on fundraising.

Maybe the peach pie was my favorite...
I took a week off between jobs, which was really important for me. I picked fruit, made pies, shopped for new clothes, ran errands, knitted, and hung around the house trying to relax. I took the week off reluctantly, but I recommend it for anyone switching jobs, especially a big transition like mine.

Now I'm at Saint Mary's for two weeks of onboarding, training, and getting to know my new coworkers and employer.

The Avenue!

I feel I've already been able to be of service, my new manager lives up to her promise of not being a micromanager, and the campus is totally cute. They have me set up for a rich calendar of onboarding activities, tours, meetings, and lunches, and I've had a great time so far. It's scary to make a move like this, but my knotted stomach is easing up as I begin to feel assured that I made the right decision.

Here's to the future!

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