Things Change Pretty Quick

A little over 2 months ago I announced I was leaving Deloitte and the consulting world in order to head overseas and serve in the Peace Corps; I discussed my passion and desire to serve other people abroad, including the awesome opportunity to deliver knowledge I had acquired here in the States to the far reaches of the world.  My hope was to teach them even one thing that would allow them to grow, prosper and, hopefully, pull themselves out of the cycle of minimal sustenance and instead increase their standard of living.  

The Peace Corps was a part of a larger plan - a chance to live and work abroad, return to earn a masters degree and then, hopefully, head to Washington, D.C. to work on policy.  Several of you who know me well understand that I have always had a passion for politics and wanted to be involved on a deeper level; The Peace Corps was an opportunity to get me to that point.

Before departing for my service overseas I headed to Madison, Wisconsin to work on a Senate race for former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson.  I knew I was interested in getting involved in politics upon my return so I wanted to get a taste of what would be required before I left to see if I could be successful.  Little did I know my time in Madison would turn into a full time offer to stay on the campaign.  

Over the past two months I've worked to organize several grass roots events and handle other responsibilities across the campaign.  I've developed a strong relationship with everyone involved here.  Due to this strong relationships and the work I was doing, two weeks ago I received an offer from the campaign to stay on full time through the end of the election.  While there is some uncertainty inherent in any political race, I know this is an opportunity that only comes along once in a lifetime.  As of Monday, March 19th I accepted the offer to remain on the campaign full time.  I will continue to live in Madison until the election, working out of our office here.  

This was not an easy decision, and all of you know me well enough to know I considered the Pros and Cons of the issue at least 12 different ways.  At the end of the day, however, the benefits and potential of staying here to work on the campaign outweighed my perceived benefits of ending what I had here and moving on to the Peace Corps.  While I am sure I will miss out on a fantastic personal opportunity in Georgia, the leap I will make here on the campaign will be just as huge.

Thank you to all of you I talked with over the past few days - I appreciate your help and support and it is very reassuring to have such a great group of friends and family behind me.  

For those of you I haven't had a chance to speak with yet, please don't take it personal.  I have been busy here and put in several miles this past weekend all across the state of Wisconsin so I haven't had much time to actually call everyone.


Not sure what I will do with this page now that I'm not going anymore, but we'll see.


Hope you enjoyed it,


J