This year has been unusual, but still has been quite a year for me. The COVID-19 pandemic obviously has had huge impacts worldwide, and even on me, but overall I have been tremendously lucky this year to stay safe, well, and comfortable despite such immense challenges.

Work:

I started a new role this year, as the Learning & Development Manager within US HR for Sun Life. This was back at the end of February just as the pandemic was getting very serious in North America. My new role had me shift to a primarily work-from-home situation, as my work team is located mostly near Boston and elsewhere in the US.

That was serendipitous in a few ways- as my partner also works from home primarily, we were able to sort out ways to work from home effectively alongside each other, a few weeks prior to it being a requirement for everyone, which was helpful. I was able to get the equipment and setup I needed to be comfortable and efficient.

This role is awesome and perfect for me in a lot of ways, I get the opportunity to wear many hats- do some facilitating (but not full-time facilitating, and mostly for leadership development work), consulting, coaching, DE&I work, and lots of other great things. I’ve gotten to build up a flexible, robust leadership development program, roll out innovative DE&I training and support important initiatives, and it’s been an awesome year. I even won an actual award.

Professional Development:

I’ve wrapped up four courses this year as part of my grad program, Work and Learning, Fostering Learning in Practice, Global/Local Learning, Comparative Education, and I’m now in the middle of Understanding Research. Three more courses and I’ll have finished up the program- looking forward to that next year.

So I’ve continued to work on my Masters program, but this year I also got the opportunity to pursue additional professional development in the form of a leadership coaching certification. I started my training back in May, and am just wrapping up the final phase tomorrow. I’m excited to have leveled up my coaching skills and have that to offer to my clients and to my coworkers. I’ve gotten to connect with some awesome people, some of whom I have kept in touch with after our courses have wrapped up.

I also renewed both my other certifications this year, the CTDP and the CPTD, so I’m all set on those fronts for another three years. I got to do a cool member showcase with TLDC as well- I wish I had a little more time to give to that group, they’re awesome.

I also got to do a little bit more fun video editing this year (mostly for fun work projects), so I’m learning more about how to edit video which is a fun skill.

Personal:

The kids were out of school this year for several months due to the pandemic, with some virtual schooling to support but it was definitely a challenge. We were able to set things up here in such a way that they were able to have some space to do schoolwork and play while we were still working full time.

Obviously we didn’t do any travelling this year, though we did have a masked, socially distanced trip to the zoo during the summer. We mostly spent the summer inside and in our own backyard- the playgrounds were closed for quite a while.

Despite all that, we’ve still been able to enjoy some seasonal fun here and there, apple picking and seeing fall leaves, and a drive-through holiday light show.

Because the typical rehearsal/performance season isn’t an option this year, I was able to join the Grand Philharmonic Choir again (which I hadn’t planned to do until I finished my Masters program). It has been great having a way to see friends and sing even if we can’t all exactly sing together at the same time. I have also been able to sing in a few virtual choirs this year (one still to come!)

Charitable giving:

I’ve been lucky enough this year to be able to donate more than last year (based on preliminary/back of the envelope calculations) across many organizations, particularly healthcare, arts, and community organizations. I know that so many folks have been in increasingly precarious financial positions, particularly my friends and family who rely on live performances and other work environments that have been impossible to keep open this year.

2020

All in all it has been a really good year for me. I’ve learned a lot, been through a few things, but overall, stayed safe, kept learning and growing, and was able to achieve some really good things. Looking forward to 2021!