Having started piano lessons at age 4 and violin lessons at age 5, I grew up thinking that I was going to be a professional musician. But it always felt like I was chasing someone else’s dream (my mom’s, my teacher’s, my peer’s).

I needed to find the thing that made me want to lock myself up in a practice room for an entire day…so I began my search for my dream job.

I was listed as one of the “most engaged” students at New England Conservatory (NEC) as I participated in various programs they offered: I won a grant to start a bakery service (Sweet Music) to cater student recital receptions, I performed community engagement concerts in various locations from homeless shelters to nursing homes, and my work-study position at the NEC Preparatory School led me to my path towards Arts Management.

But my search continued throughout my career…I ran youth orchestra programs, taught violin students, went on tour with Boston’s A Far Cry Chamber Orchestra, assisted emergency veterinarians, chaperoned 100 high school students on a performance tour across Europe, curated a virtual orchestra performance and wrote stories to inspire donors to give.

It was during my time serving as NEC Prep’s Assistant Director when I began to see a common thread in what I enjoyed the most in the various roles I have held: making things happen.

From launching an international orchestra camp to building a staffing system for a design consulting firm, give me a vision and I will execute.

But just making things happen wasn’t what brought me joy. What brought me joy was the process of executing and the impact of what was executed.

My two years at IDEO, a global design consulting firm, have taught me the power of human-centered design. So now, I execute with a human-centered approach. While my expertise is in creating and improving processes and systems (the “how”), I inform my design and decisions around the users’ needs and goals (the “why”). This means I collaborate closely with stakeholders to understand and align on the vision to ensure the outcome is impactful.

All throughout my search, I thought I was searching for my “dream job” but I realized that what I discovered was my dream impacts, and that could turn any job into a dream job.