About
Highline Trail, Glacier National Park, Montana
It started with sisu…
The question was burning in my mind as I looked at the worn “got sisu?” bumper sticker on the back of my friend Ron’s 1980 Ford pick-up truck. My breath was crystalizing on my scarf in the single-digit temperatures in northern Minnesota as me and Ron, who was practically another grandpa to me, trudged through the snow towards his cabin.
“What’s sisu?” I asked, pulling down my scarf just enough so he could hear me. My words floated on the fog of my breath that curled in front of my face.
“Guts!” he exclaimed excitedly, shaking his fist enthusiastically into the frigid air with an unexpected vigor. “Courage and determination! Determination to always keep going! A Finnish word, and one to live by!”
He turned to me with a sparkle in his eye. “I think you’ve got some sisu in you.”
It continues with sisu…
Since being introduced to the word, sisu has been my personal approach to life. It means that I am continuously eager to discover something new, and I’m not afraid to do it on my own. I personally don’t believe in dreaming about doing something; instead, I’ll find a way to make it happen.
I’d like to think that it was sisu that brought me into UX Design. Realizing that I needed to discover a new career path, I didn’t shy away from diving in and determining what I needed to do next. I found my strengths, identified what I wanted out of a career, and landed upon UX Design. I was accepted into Prime Digital Academy in Minneapolis and completed it in late 2019, finding myself as a new career UX practitioner.
2020 was a year that surprised us all: I began my career with Infor and unexpectedly became a remote employee thanks to Covid-19. Fast forward a couple years and life has taken additional unexpected turns: I lived in northwestern Montana for 2 years, then purchased my first home in Duluth, Minnesota. Not wanting to give up on enjoying the west, I bought a minivan and converted it into my Adventure Vehicle, allowing me to easily travel out west. All of this while continuing to work at Infor, where I grew into being a team lead and then team manager, mentoring my direct reports and continuing to advocate for the best user experience. While my time there has concluded, I’m eager to discover what lies ahead.
A Few Personal Facts
Listening to: the latest Anjunadeep Edition
What I’m proud of: summiting Mount St. Helen’s
Traveling to next: Scotland, Finland or Norway
Where I’ve been: too many to list, but this will help
Preferred relaxation method: a wood-fire sauna
What I’m working towards: my own cabin in the woods
Something you might not believe: I own a chainsaw and have taken a log cabin building course