See Ya Later Custom Ink

It is officially my last week at Custom Ink. I’ve been working here since I graduated college - 6.5 years. This company has seen me through a major part of my 20s, moved me across the company to make a new community in Reno, and introduced me to some of the most amazing people and friends. Leaving is definitely bittersweet.

I’ve had highs and lows for sure. The very day I landed in Reno, I was told I wasn’t being promoted to a leadership position. Difficult to accept when I had just left my family and friends back east to this city I embarrassingly couldn’t find on a map until I began considering moving. But, then I had the chance to train new hires for the next year. This allowed me to connect with two of my closest friends as co-trainers and gave me classroom experience that really illustrated my love for coaching and developing others. I continued to apply and apply, and about a year later I became lead and 6 months after that a manager. Reflecting back, I do think timing happens for a reason. While of course you always want the promotion or new role you apply for (and trust me, I’ve applied for a lot at Custom Ink), each process taught me something new about myself and set me up for a different experience.

In the 3.5 years I’ve been a manager, I’ve had so many opportunities to connect with individuals and work on impactful projects. I fell in love with both people and project management, actually becoming project management certified which was a huge accomplishment last December. I continued to travel back east for holidays, weddings and other big life events, so was able to maintain great relationships in multiple sites. 

I’ve dedicated time to growing our volunteer team, shaping the leadership and structure as well as relationships in the community. I learned that octopuses have three hearts (Custom Ink = Inky = Three Hearts Volunteer Team!) But really, Inkers have 1700+ hearts and it shows in the time dedicated at each event and the fundraisers supported and the donation drives and just the simple but genuine smiles in the hallway.

Thinking of my favorite days, it always comes back to the people. It made my day when someone on my team got the design role they had been working towards for months or someone else was promoted to leadership and I had seen their perseverance and dedication to growth. I knew their hard work had paid off and I had been able to support and be a part of their journey. It was the leadership summits that gave me the opportunity to travel and spend time with friends from across locations and make new connections that inspired projects and initiatives.

Yes, there were times I questioned what I was doing - when I went into the parking lot to cry because I needed to fire someone or when it took weeks to months to hear back about a position I was eagerly awaiting an update. But as a whole, Custom Ink has been a great place to work and one I would recommend to almost anyone. As our commercials always say and a phrase that will be in my head forever - Thanks Custom Ink!