Not to get all high-and-mighty, but I believe that self reflection is one of the most important things an individual can do. Turning a critical eye on your accomplishments as well as your personal failings give you a sense of achievement and can help motivate you towards improvement. I wasn’t always a believer in this idea; however, my MBA courses — where I had to deal with my personal shortcomings often — led me to realize the power such reflections can provide. So with that in mind, here is a listing of the major things, both professionally and personally, I was able to complete in 2016 as well as some goals that I fell short on (but hopefully can remedy in 2017).
Professional Achievements
- Submitted patent for unique improvements to our facility’s linear accelerator (it was our facility’s first patent submittal in recent memory)
- Submitted late news article, suitable for poster presentation, to the Hardened Electronics and Radiation Technology Annual Conference detailing extensive characterization efforts of said linear accelerator
- Completed all work efforts to the facility’s and customer’s satisfaction (intentionally vague, I know…)
- Was involved in higher-level business efforts concerning our facility such as constructing and refining RFI answers and determining lab usage rates
- Began incorporating python and MATLAB learning into work tasks
- Reacquainted myself with LaTeX and have been championing it’s use in the creation of technical documents
- Graduated with my Professional MBA from the University of Utah (GPA of 3.90)
Personal (+ Family!) Achievements
- Birth of our first child, Eleanor
- Improved photography and photo-editing skills
- Keeping up with training plan for 50-mile race scheduled in March
- Created a personal website and re-evaluated my own personal value
- Went to Seoul, South Korea for MBA International trip which was not only immensely informative but was personally rewarding in a lot of ways
- Became a Professional MBA Ambassador which entails mentoring incoming students and promoting the program to prospective students
- Became a board member for the University of Utah Business Alumni Association
- Become contributors to a variety of personal causes
Where I Came Up Short
- Did not take the Project Management Professional (PMP) Exam and receive certification which complemented some of my MBA coursework
- Did not become a staple at regional IEEE events and volunteer opportunities
- Did not become certified National Instruments LabVIEW Developer
Anyways, here’s to a very fulfilling 2016 and the hope that 2017 will be equally as beneficial!