I’m just a normal human who likes to take chances on myself and others. I’m also a PhD scientist, a family man, a runner, and a part-time entrepreneur.My work at the University of Texas at Austin as an Innovation Program Manager is tremendously rewarding, and I use my scientist’s mind and servant leader practices to help innovators turn their ideas into reality.The Strengths Finder recently identified my top five—responsibility, belief, connectedness, communication, developer—and it struck me that we can and should evolve as humans as we learn and grow.Although my top five strengths have changed over time, the core of who I am remains the same. I thrive on purpose, connection, and discovery, and these are the central themes of my work—and of my life.Growing up, I had every odd job possible and became somewhat of a shapeshifter, able to learn new skills and quickly change course. I started my academic career wanting to be a high school biology teacher, but once I got a taste for actual research in undergrad, I was hooked. I loved exploring the unknown through the scientific process, and it transformed my life’s path.As a PhD student at UT Austin, my research involved investigating gene expression in budding yeast with the ultimate goal to provide the field of cancer biology with a better understanding of the molecular details of cancer, and, ultimately, fundamentally change the way we fight cancer. Work is not a means to an end for me, but a reflection of my values and who I am as a person. We are not separate people at home and at work, and my experience as a father, a husband, and an entrepreneur has driven that point home for me.My work through G5 Active, currently as a children’s book author and formerly as a podcast producer and host, celebrates the intrinsic power of fitness and its ability to change lives. My wife and I have grown our family through foster care, adoption, and biologically, and being able to share our love of running with our kids and with the world at large has been a transformative experience for us.Can I help connect you to someone or something that will help advance your mission? Want to talk about running, faith, work, parenting, and where these all intersect? Email me at matthew.r.sorenson(at)gmail.com.