Pop… Pop…

This week was a great exercise in flexibility and adaptability. Over the last few months, there have been several goals I’ve set and worked towards. One was to finish my doctorate, another was a milestone with my 9-5, and both were completed within a few weeks, both a relief and a curse. A relief that all the time, hard work, and dedication has paid off. The curse is the question of What’s next?

My goal during the newsletter is to expand on my weekly video. This week’s video was initially planned to discuss another Austin Kleon book, Keep Going. Well, to be completely transparent… I haven’t finished reading the book, and while I could have quickly skimmed, grabbed the salient points, and thrown something together — I didn’t feel comfortable producing a video that didn’t provide value to the viewers. So next week I’ll cover the book. But I decided to be flexible; I listened to a friend - who told me that I wasn’t allowing myself to shine through the videos, so I did that very thing. I focused on sharing my life and credentials that highlight my adult life - I didn’t include my greatest successes… My friends and family. None of my accomplishments would be possible without their support or help. My goal is to make the people that have given so much of their time and energy to me return the favor and freely give value to the world.

Fizz… Fizz…

This week I discussed my background, credentials, and glimpses into the experiences that make me. I haven’t outwardly shared my values, my values are paramount in my actions and developing plans.

So here is a little more about me. I grew up in the greater Washington, DC, where I loved tinkering, designing, and building. From a young age, I have loved aircraft and spacecraft and dreamed of becoming an astronaut. I focused my studies and goal around STEM fields while engaging in progressively more challenging leadership roles. My dream has moved from Astronaut to doing something to move the needle.

Oh, what a relief it is…

Here you go if you didn’t pick up on the Alka Seltzer section titling. Dealing with praise and success tends to make me uncomfortable, but I am unsure when that happened. Throughout my childhood and college, I had opportunities to be class president, play varsity sports, win science fairs, captain academic teams, and start clubs. Since I’ve commissioned into the Navy, I felt like I’ve struggled… but retrospectively, there is no reason for feeling this way. Ask any of my professors or teachers, I am not a good student (arbitrary deadlines and exaggerated perceived stress), but I love learning (ask other students). Clearly, I respect formalized education and have continued learning at progressively higher levels.

Arguably I’ve only missed one goal in my adult life becoming a Naval Aviator/ Naval Flight Officer. I need to remind myself (more frequently than I should) not meeting a goal doesn’t change me into a failure. Logically, there is no question about this, I convey this advice to peers and mentees alike… But I cannot say that I have thoroughly internalized it. Some call it Imposter Syndrome, and some call it success anxiety. I don’t know what it is or how to overcome it, but I’ll wait for Jenn to devise a plan for me.

So a brief background about adult me. I attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute, majoring in Aerospace Engineering and working toward a commission in the US Navy in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps. I had a handful of jobs while at WPI. I helped my parents with their tax agency, I interned with Walter Reed Institute of Research as a Near Peer Mentor, bike mechanic, bike retail, and freelance concert stage hand.

In 2011, I was commissioned into the Navy and moved to Pensacola, FL, to attend flight school as a Naval Aviator. 2012 I moved to Corpus Christi, TX, to continue flight training. In 2013, I moved back to Pensacola, FL to continue flight training but now as a Naval Flight Officer. 2013 was a particular year when I was introduced to my ultra-supportive wife Jenn.

In 2014, I was removed from flight school, took the fundamentals of engineering exam, became an AMDO (Aerospace Maintenance Duty Officer), and moved to Seattle, WA with Jenn to be stationed aboard the USS Nimitz. While on the Nimitz, I completed my Master of Business Administration in Project Management and learned invaluable lessons about leading Junior Sailors and peers in routing and crisis. The most remarkable thing I could do here was learn about shipboard firefighting, incident management, and the fundamentals of aviation maintenance.

In 2017, I transferred to the Electronic Attack Squadron 136 as a Division Officer, then Assistant Department Head. I deployed twice to the South Pacific aboard the USS Carl Vinson on this tour. After we returned, I left active duty Navy and became a traditional aerospace systems engineer as We moved back to Virginia. Since 2019, I have worked in the Department of Defense. I completed my Project Management Professional certification in 2020. In 2021, I started my Doctor of Engineering program in Engineering Management while working as an engineer and striving to move my programs forward. Also, in 2021 I earned my Professional Engineering License in Washington State. In 2023, I completed my Doctor of Engineering and started the channel, newsletter, and website.

Throw in a couple of hobbies, racing bicycles, slowly running marathons, building computers, playing board games, earning a private pilot license, scuba certifications, and programming — then you start to have a picture of me.

So I’ve seen and done a bunch, and here I am, looking for a way to give back to the world that offered me all these opportunities.

Change is inevitable

Okay, Cyle — Enough background…. What is the point of this newsletter? The point is, when I started this journey, sometimes I knew the destination, and sometimes I didn’t. The journey is where all the stories are made, the small electrical fire in middle school where I learned the importance of current, the late nights in the lab writing code for my first microprocessor, or the third time I got into an accident on my bicycle. The countless hours of working on learning a skill are not getting you to an end state - they are the experiences where you learn.

What’s next?

So next week (maybe sooner), I’ll tell everyone about Austin Kleon’s Keep Going. I’m unsure what’s next, but I hope to enjoy the journey.

Until next time, keep creating, keep sharing, and stay inspired.

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