Today, I successfully defended my doctoral dissertation at Alliant University. Behind every individual achievement, there are supporters who made it possible, and often, someone who deserved their own chance. In this light, my dissertation is dedicated to my parents for their undying support and, in the most heartfelt manner, to my sister Elise, who didn't have the same opportunity as I.

It’s Monday morning at 6:58 AM, and I can already smell it on me. Stress, and no ordinary kind. I know I’m about to fail epically. I’m imagining a context other than reality - and it feels real. The capacity for simulation is both a gift and a liability, and most of us are wildly missing the gift half.

In my free time, I volunteer with Call of the Sea, crewing aboard the brigantine Matthew Turner out of the Bay Area. We take students out sailing to experience the maritime environment, local history, and something increasingly rare in the classroom: learning by doing.

This year, I had the opportunity to blend my passion for sailing-driven education and my Ph.D. dissertation focus.

Reflection allows us to get more value out of experiences we’ve already “paid” for and is the key to discovering the foundations of our successes, failures, and ultimately our happiness. Let’s make sure we’re getting the most out of reflection by structuring it differently in 2026.

Your plans will fail you, but the act of planning will never. The value is the adaptable mind you build while planning. The journey, is in fact, the destination.

When every action has a price tag, purpose starts to lose its signal. Incentives can move work forward — or drown out what made it meaningful in the first place.