It was 5 am in the morning and there I was awake and ready.  Ready for what?! My feet were heady to hit the ground running.  My mind was ready to conquer another day.  Except, it was Saturday morning.  After 11 years of training, my weekends now belonged to me.  My body did not yet know this.

This particular Saturday morning, I was right awake.  Unable to go back to sleep, I found myself googling my name along with the name of my new employer.  To my surprise, a smiley picture of me was featured in the Hartford Courant.  Who’s climbing the Connecticut ladder? Me.

I shared this feature with my mom and surprisingly heard her utter a most pleasurable sound.  Of all the degrees and awards I have received, somehow being featured in CT’s most prominent paper was the one accolade that made my mother feel that I had made it.