I never imagined I would work in finance.I was never what you would call a “great” student. I was average at best specifically in math; go figure. However, during my teenage years, I stumbled upon the book Think and Grow Rich which led me down a rabbit hole of other financial books. I loved them. I found the idea of properly managing, investing, and analyzing money to be fascinating. Did I immediately go get a degree and become a financial professional? Nope,Instead, I chose to go into sales. Sure, I was pretty successful there but I just felt like I wasn’t in the correct place. It wasn’t until my daughter was born that a light bulb flashed in my head and I realized that maybe I should pursue a degree in business and finance. But how could I, who struggled at math, who got a late start in formal education, succeed in finance? My response: “I’ll figure it out”, and figure it out I did. My real-world experience has taught me how to pivot and to think fast. I learned strategic planning, risk management, and model creation to help achieve my team goals which helped develop my skills early in my career. Now I manage a multi-million-dollar defense contract and am responsible for the forecasting, budgeting, planning, and management of every dollar awarded to that contract. A profession in finance may not have been what I though I would be doing today but I’ve come to realize that it is certainly my calling.