Project 365: Day 115

It all seemed to be working out for us because this month Alan Benesi is retiring and I was lucky enough to be in town to celebrate with him. State College was the perfect pit stop between Honesdale and Pittsburgh and so we stopped for lunch with some old friends.

Alan is the reason that I worked in NMR for 2 years and ended up at Bruker - it was actually HIS IDEA that I give Bruker a call just before my graduation from Penn State. He told me that he had thought of the perfect job for me, I should sell NMR, and Bruker was hiring, and he had already told George about me.... I called George that week and the rest is history! Thank you to Alan for all of the guidance through the years and for not only being the best boss any one could ever ask for, but being a great friend.

I also got to see Chris Falzone (top center) who was my undergraduate advisor at Penn State (he's now at Johns Hopkins). Chris met with my parents and I when I was visiting Penn State as a high school senior and he was one of the biggest reasons that I ever went to Penn State in the first place! He was a great advisor throughout my tenure at Penn State and the one who encouraged me to go to work for Alan. It was great to see him again after almost 6 years.

If it wasn't for these two figures in my life, who knows what I'd be doing today - but I can almost guarantee I wouldn't be at Bruker or in Colorado and therefore probably never would have met my fiance.... life works in mysterious ways.