I just interviewed a guy today for a position as a Ruby on Rails developer. This would be his first software development position, having previously worked as a customer service rep for an insurance company. His background includes a degree in film, so not your typical coder back story. He was a confident guy, well-spoken and quite personable. While speaking with him I could feel how excited he was at the prospect of continuing to work with the platform. But it wasn’t just what he would be doing, but also where he would be doing it. He complimented the campus (something you hear a lot about Notre Dame), was even happy about the color in the trees, but he stated that he couldn’t wait to help work on things that would influence change. To him working in a higher education setting, having the ability to impact the students and make a positive change for the world as a whole was quite invigorating.

I found myself coming out of that interview with a new energy for my position. I think too often we start to take for granted where we are in life, and forget to really appreciate what we are doing and the influence we can actually have in the world. I have a really cool career, get the opportunity to work with some really great people, and no matter how long the walk is in to work everyday the view is always incredible. So as we look to the future in our careers, trying always to get somewhere better, remember to take a moment and remember what made you so excited when you first started down the path you are on.