Of Grace and Grit

Chief Volunteer & President

Last year, sometime around Thanksgiving, I was voted in as president of the Esophageal Cancer Awareness Association (ECAA).  In the new position, I have been elevated into a much more public facing role -- each week interacting with dozens, if not hundreds of those affected by the disease.  It's hard.  It's impossible to not adopt the emotions faced by those on the EC journey.

This morning I was reflecting on how those emotions have affected me in this first quarter.  I have been forced to revisit the pain of my initial diagnosis and the joy of completing chemotherapy --- a milestone I reached nearly 5 years ago (March 15th).  Facing the unbound questions of the newly diagnosed about the abysmal survival rating of the disease and how they too can beat the odds, I think about ways  to inspire, about ways to be pragmatic yet tactful, and about ways to prevent the next patient.  

My writing this morning is a phrasing aimed at that middle layer: hope.  If perceived as contrived or banal, I apologize.  When thinking of cancer and mortality, it is hard to not feel in ezra and communicate in bumper stickers.  

My working title of such a punchy, pithy tagline: "Of Grace & Grit"

As 2nd Semester begins

As 2nd semester of b-school begins,
I think back on the things that have taken over my life for the last 6 months and hope to synthesize that wisdom into a few good lines. In an effort to make it at least readable, I'll look at my life in 3 ways: MBA, Brooklyn and work.