I created this site in December 2023 and planned to launch it in 2024.
Before launching, I wanted to make the design perfect and pre-populate it with interesting content.
But if I did that, who knows if and when it would ever launch.
Perfect is the enemy of good enough.
Good enough is something I want to embrace more of when it makes sense.
Some times all you need is an MVP.
So here we go.
Hello World!
Where I’ve Been (2013-2023)
The last few weeks have been a time of reflection.
Where have I been and where might I want to go in the future?
The last 10 years have been filled with both excitement and struggle.
All of the “bad things” that have happened over the years have been some of the best things in my life.
These experiences have provided clarity on what truly matters, opened up new doors, and led me into an exciting career path that I never could have imagined.
Here’s a snapshot of my journey.
2013
- Graduated from The College of St. Scholastica with a B.S. in Chemistry
- Moved to Michigan
- Started a PhD program at Michigan State University (MSU) in Nuclear Chemistry
- Quickly realized I did not like the research
- Questioned what to do with life
- Played a lot of basketball
2014
- Switched to Chemistry Education research to explore my interest in teaching and learning
- Jumped headfirst into the science of learning and drank the Kool-Aid
- Studied by day and hooped by night
2015
- Completely immersed in learning theories, theoretical frameworks, design-based research, and evidence-based strategies for how to improve teaching and learning
- Started playing disc golf and got hooked
- Ran a half marathon without training (don’t pick up a new interesting hobby that fills the time you were supposed to use for training)
2016
- Honed my expertise in learning science and discipline-based education research
- Married my awesome wife
- Won the Michigan Disc Golf State Championship
2017
- Developed a deep understanding and expertise into how people learn and how to create meaningful end-to-end experiences
- Realized I don’t like chemistry very much (welp, that may be a problem), but loved the education science side of everything I did.
- Started cycling
- Camped all over Michigan
- Qualified and competed in the United States Amateur Disc Golf Championship
2018
- Experienced the trough of graduate school
- Cycled a lot
- Lost all interest in chemistry aspect of my graduate work
- Unsure what career paths I could pursue after graduate school or what I might want to do
- While appreciating the importance of research publications to advance what we know as a society, I learned that I personally did not value or find joy in writing research papers.
- What made me light up was practically applying the science of learning to rapidly improve something in the real world, not writing a paper on a niche subject that only a few (if any) researchers would skim through
- Considered dropping out of grad school, but decided to push through with support of amazing wife
2019
- Finished writing dissertation and successfully defended
- Graduated with PhD
- Went on multi-week backpacking honeymoon in Europe (finally!)
- Started a new job as lab coordinator at MSU managing the large-scale general chemistry lab courses
- Loved mentoring graduate teaching assistants and supporting learners
- Confirmed my disinterest in chemistry (welp, what do I do now?)
2020
- Managed pivot of in-person labs into virtual format during COVID shutdown
- Lost job as lab coordinator (peak moment of forced change that was catalyst to an exciting new career path)
- Started a new remote role at MSU doing training and professional development for faculty on virtual learning and technology
- Welcomed the birth of first son while in lockdown
2021
- Moved back to Minnesota to raise son closer to family
- Continued working remotely leading virtual learning and development workshops for MSU educators
- Considered transitioning from academia into industry
- Applied to interesting hybrid and remote jobs that might be a good fit based on my expertise in learning and experience design
- Got a new remote job at Mayo Clinic designing and developing an accelerator program for health tech startups (well that’s a plot twist)
- Designed a 20-week cohort-based accelerator program from the ground up in Q4 and planned for inaugral cohort to start in Q1 of 2022
2022
- Completely immersed in learning about startups, AI, and emerging tech
- Successfully launched the Mayo Clinic Platform_Accelerate program with inaugral cohort of four startups
- Led program development, experience design, event creation, and startup education for the Accelerate Program
- Rapidly refined program to continuously improve offerings, experience, and value for companies
- Successfully launched and completed a second cohort that contained seven companies
- Started learning basics of web development
- Bought a house and transformed it into a home
2023
- Promoted to a new job title, but continued doing same role for Accelerate
- Continued leading program development, experience design, event creation, and startup education for the Accelerate Program
- Completed third cohort with 12 companies
- Launched fourth cohort with 9 startups
- Developed an operational playbook that provides detailed overview of program operations, structure, and roles
- Designed a completely new 30-week on-demand model of the Accelerate Program to launch in 2024
- Welcomed the birth of second son
- Coded and launched a personal portfolio website
- Created this website in December in excitement for what the next phase of my journey may entail
Where I’m going
I have no clue.
But oh am I excited for what lies ahead.
The possibilities are endless and my curiosity continues to grow.
There is so much to learn, do, and explore (looking at you GenAI).
That’s why I created this website.
A step into the next chapter, an opportunity to capture the next part of my journey - whatever that may be.
A place to explore ideas, learn new technology, share learnings, create AI art, build in public, help people, educate, and self-reflect.
Personal finance is one of those topics I want to share more on.
Money is this thing that is incredibly important to discuss, but people don’t talk about it (like Bruno) as much as they should.
I have learned a lot about financial fitness in my own journey and I want to help others by providing actionable information.
While the future may be unknown, I do know I’m incredibly excited to make the most of the next 10 years.
Anything that’s worthwhile isn’t going to be easy, so here’s to leaning into and actively seeking desirable difficulties in 2024 and beyond.