When I was younger, I was always trying to reach for the stars. I wanted to be an astronaut! As I continued growing up, my hobbies, passions, and priorities changed. I figured it’d be better to be on Earth to spend time with family. And that priority has stayed the same ever since. Family is the most crucial aspect of my life. Everything that I do, every decision I make.So, when I made the decision to move out to Salt Lake City, Utah instead of staying in the Midwest, it was to grow and explore new things. We have grown quite a bit! Flash back to March of 2020, spending the last week of March in a foreign country on my last spring break ever. I get a phone call that says, “If you can avoid it, do not come home.” I get a second phone call and an e-mail that says, “You can no longer live on campus.” I went into fight mode almost immediately. Within 24 hours, I had booked new flights to leave the country, packed my dorm room, and drove to a remote part of Ohio where I’d spend the next 3 months living away from the rest of the world. I lost time that I cherished, and that started a drastic change in my life.That change was trying something brand new, in a place I have only been to twice before. The short-term, not-so-specific goal was to get out of the comfort zone, and a begin to build a life. What I really wanted to begin to achieve was to create a place where my family and closest friends could come experience complete solitude, like I experienced in the three months of quarantining.My goal throughout my career has been to reach for the stars, but it is now to land at a point where I can recall that exact moment in March 2020 and be thankful for all of it. This experience taught me a brand-new level of hard work and sacrifice. This experience has taught me to play for teams that I never would’ve played for before. The one thing I am grateful for at this moment throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing past my former limitations of patience and grit. I have learned what it means to be customer-oriented. I have learned what it means to make the business your own. My resume may not be riddled with experience, but there isn’t a player in the game that will put forth effort like I know I can. I’m looking to continue to grow, learn, and create connections that become friendships that last a lifetime.