Tag Archives: The Arc of the United States

What’s Next

A hilarious flyer including Grumpy Cat, made with love by Amberley Romo and Kevin Wenzel.
A hilarious flyer including Grumpy Cat, made with love by Amberley Romo and Kevin Wenzel.

Friday was bittersweet. I finished up a two-plus year tenure at The Arc, having the chance to work with some of the most passionate people I’ve ever met. Working there changed me in so many positive ways, I couldn’t even begin to list them all. So what’s next? I’ve accepted a position as an Interactive Designer at Rock Creek Strategic Marketing – building websites and applications for its clients. I worked in many areas of the online world at The Arc. Because of that I learned that I really love building sites and applications, and this new position gives me the opportunity to do more of that. I’m excited to meet my new colleagues, dive in and create some fantastic web experiences. Working at The Arc was an amazing experience, and I couldn’t have moved The Arc’s online communications in so many new directions without the team there. We rebranded the organization, launched a national autism information and resource center, built new blogs with responsive designs, made huge progress on website accessibility and so much more. On my last day my co-workers threw me a great party, told their favorite “Dave” stories and brought plenty of brownies and beer (my favorite motivators! :)). I couldn’t have imagined a better ending to my time there.

Sometimes You Just Have to Run the Race

Running Trail image

When I ran cross country in high school, my teammates and I would often walk the course before a big race.

It made for good preparation. We could identify any trouble spots ahead of time, and it allowed us to plan how each particular course might affect our running style. I didn’t like doing it though. I appreciate preparation, but to me, walking the course took some of the fun out of the race. You knew once hundreds of other runners poured onto the course with you, those turns and bumps would be different. Most of your careful planning could prove useless rather quickly. Sometimes, you just have to embrace the unknown.

New Beginnings

I’ve done just that for the past few months and weeks. A year ago, I left my full-time job as a copywriter with a great company in one of the worst economies in decades to pursue a dream: I wanted to learn how to tell stories in a new way and I wanted to earn my master’s degree. I always thought I would pursue creative writing further, but I shifted focus once I found the perfect program. I graduated in May with my master’s degree in interactive media from Elon University, and have been searching for a job ever since.

A week ago, I loaded up a U-Haul truck, said goodbye to some dear friends in North Carolina and moved to Alexandria, Virginia, hoping to land a job in the Washington, D.C., area. That leap of faith worked. I accepted a job with The Arc of the United States as its new Online Marketing Specialist. The Arc promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes. I’ll be managing the organization’s online presence to help further its mission. I’m thrilled to be working for the public good and helping the talented team there give a voice to those who may not otherwise be heard.

I’m excited that my new career opportunity will build on the varied skill set I already have, and allow me to expand my knowledge into new media further in all sorts of ways. If you follow this blog or my Twitter account, don’t expect too much to change. I’m still interested in all the same things, especially telling stories with technology and creating online content. And I’m so happy that my own story has taken this turn toward something new and exciting. Sometimes, you have to embrace the unknown and run the race.

Image by Somadjinn.