What You See Is What You Get

This spring I met with Cortés Saunders-Storno, Director of Alumni Relations at the University of San Francisco, where I earned my MBA in 2004. I hadn’t been on the campus of Lone Mountain since I graduated. It was a blast backward in time!

My experience in USF’s executive MBA program changed my life. While that sounds dramatic, it isn't meant to be. I was a different person at the end of the program — and I could never go back.

People probably feel that way at any school they attend. I’m not claiming USF is that different from other schools and we know that timing is everything, but for me in my life at that moment — it was exactly what I needed.

When I walked through those doors again, I was consumed with memories I had forgotten ... memories of working full-time and going to school full-time at night and on the weekends — and the feeling that I would never come up above water.

Cortés was wonderful and we clicked instantly. One thing she said stuck with me — she expressed that what she liked most about meeting me and hearing my story is how real it felt. That not everyone goes along a path that is perfect — sometimes you have to fall to your knees and beg life to stop throwing bad things at you — and then have the strength and determination to rise to the next level.

I guess that’s kinda my thing. I am a normal person. I have educated myself and paid my dues in the business world. I was diagnosed with breast cancer at 36. And now, I write this blog in an effort to be transparent to our community.

There are no smoke and mirrors with me. What you see is what you get. I’m not perfect and I make mistakes, but I promise to always learn from them and be the best person I am capable of being each and every day.