After a year and a half, today was officially my last day working at Grover Gaming. As the night comes to an end I finally have a chance to reflect on my time at Grover.

Getting hired at Grover came at a perfect time for me. I was looking for another job after College Board and it wasn’t going well. I was applying anywhere I could and was surprised to get an interview request from this locally-based gaming company! The interviews went well and a few weeks later I was driving to my first day at work.

I walked into the office and was greeted by the unknown: unknown people, unknown devices, and an unknown future.

Returning to an in-person job after so long working from home, along with some trauma of recent life events, was unfamiliar territory. It generally takes me a while to open up to people, and my social battery needed to be calibrated, badly.

But over time I got more familiar with the technology, the processes, and the people. It takes a special group to make me feel welcome and understood. Quickly the people in the office became like family to me — something I really never experienced at work before.

As I became more comfortable, I became more outspoken. I started contributing more ideas and taking initiative (sometimes too much). The encouragement for everyone to speak up and challenge each other let good ideas rise and not-so-good ideas sink.

It was clear that my passion for technology was coming back, too. I got back into keeping up with the latest tech news and reading CompTIA certification guides in my spare time. I was creating work-related scripts and apps and truly just learning something new every single day.

And now it’s official — I am no longer at Grover Gaming. What a weird thing to say. An opportunity presented itself and I had to take it, no matter how much I love my Grover family. And I know that they’re happy for me too, even though they don’t want me to leave.

I will be forever thankful for being given the opportunity to rebuild myself from the pile of rubble I was. I put blood, sweat, and tears into my time at Grover and I hope that I was able to make a significant positive impact there. Not to be remembered, but to express my gratitude.

Walking out of that office building was a feeling that I’ve never had before. Sadness and excitement all rolled up into one big knot in my stomach. I can’t say enough how thankful I am for my time at Grover.

Here’s to the next chapter of my life 🥂