Last Day, Thursday, December 5th - 2 hours

Today was the last day and as excited as I was to be done, I'm also really sad that I won't be joining a variety of coaches multiple times a week, working closely with and learning from Mike almost daily, and being around the athletes anymore. I didn't realize how similar mine and Mike's background was playing and education wise until this mentorship, so it was great getting to know him and pick his brain more than when I would see him a few times a year while coaching. I genuinely appreciate all that him and the other directors have done for me throughout the last couple months. Most of mine and Mike's conversations tonight revolved around if I needed anything else for school or in general. As much as our conversations include joking, tonight was actually pretty solemn. The good news is that I will be filling in for him the first weekend in January for one of his teams so I will still see him a couple times in the next month.

Even though I don't have specific long-term career plans right now, I absolutely want to work in athletics. I've decided to take the step soon to quit teaching even though I don't have a replacement job yet. That is absolutely terrifying especially with a baby coming in March. Mike was unbelievably encouraging with advice and said he would keep his ears open for anything available. I would never be able to make decisions like leaving one job with the confidence that I'll find another one without supporters like him. I'm forever grateful to him and the other guys within the club that have helped me get this far.