2024 kept me very busy: A new job in a new industry mostly in person at our Silicon Valley headquarters (~30 min commute), while being a mom of two under five with Lucas in German preschool and Francesca at Spanish daycare, never ending construction... Overall, there are many things to be thankful for and I'm excited about what 2025 holds in store. Therefore, per tradition, I want to share this year's highlights with you.
JANUARY
I reconnected with a few long time friends who passed through San Francisco. Reconnecting with my network and meeting new people was definitely the bright side of my job search. I invested the time not knowing which conversation would lead me where...
FEBRUARY
As I navigated my job search, I started a LinkedIn series inspired by the #NeverSearchAlone theme to share insights, inspiration, and recommendations to empower and uplift fellow job seekers. I am extremely grateful to my friends Giulia and Anne-Sophie for co-working sessions, motivational support, and accountability checks.
MARCH
I volunteered as an election poll worker during the California primary elections. It was a long day and not many people voted in person, however, some dropped off their ballots with us and I enjoyed being a part of the process. At this point of the race, I was still hopeful for the election outcome and had no idea how tumultuous the 2024 campaigns would turn out to be...
My parents were visiting us to spend time with Lucas during spring break and meet Franci for the first time. Due to our construction they couldn't stay with us but luckily found an Airbnb in walking distance.
MAY
I turned 40 and spend a weekend with friends in a beautiful Airbnb in Sebastopol. Highly recommended!
After a three month long interview marathon, I joined the Program Management Office at Zoox to make cities safer, cleaner and more enjoyable with our autonomous ride-hailing service. 10 years ago I moved to Silicon Valley to work on groundbreaking technology that has a meaningful positive impact on people’s lives. And now I get to work on building the future… of urban mobility!
JULY
In July we spent more time off in Sonoma enjoying the hot weather, beautiful Redwood trees, healthy California cuisine, old school mini golf, local swimming pools and more!
AUGUST
The reward for good work is more work: When two coworkers left Zoox, I inherited the company wide quarterly planning effort while immediately starting to recruit for the role. It feels good to be on the other side of the job search again. Zoox is hiring across teams. Please, reach out if you're interested in joining us and you find a role that is a great fit: zoox.com/careers.
SEPTEMBER
After recovering from COVID, I spent a weekend in Carmel Valley with some close friends - the first time in more than four years spending a night away from the kids with good conversations, food and hikes - definitely worth repeating on a more frequent basis.
OCTOBER
Lucas and I went on a whirlwind trip to Germany for my niece's 2nd birthday and baptism. It was fun to see him engage with his cousins, aunts, Oma & Opa and experience Kirmes and other attractions in my home town.
NOVEMBER
After the election results left me in shock, I turned to what matters most: spending time with friends and family on Thanksgiving and beyond. I vouched to be back for the fight for democracy but needed some time to come to grasp with reality first.
