“Sometimes in this life, only one or two opportunities are put before us, and we must seize them, no matter the risk.” – Andre Dubus III

I recently stumbled across that quote and find it couldn’t be more true. Five years ago, NBC Sports took a chance on a girl from Aurora, Colorado and my life hasn’t been the same since…

I remember walking into the TV compound at Barber, in complete shock that I had that famous “Peacock” on my shirt. I started working as a runner, willing to do whatever it took to soak up all the knowledge I could. I walked through the production trucks and hand drew seating maps with everyone’s name and their position. I didn’t have the slightest clue what “AD” meant, what a format was supposed to look like or technologically how a show even came together (a lot of that is still over my head!).

I’ve had the honor of working for two of the best producers in all of television, Rich O’Connor and Terry Lingner. In my opinion, they are the cream of the crop and continued to teach me something each weekend about TV or life that I didn’t know beforehand. All of those learning experiences have led to a great passion for video work and the art of watching a piece come together.

I have made friendships with our small crew that will last my entire lifetime. We always joked that since we spent so much time together, we often knew more about each other than our own families, as our road crew became our second family. Not to mention the amazing group at IMS Productions, that made our weekly family grow from roughly 30 people to well over 150.

So, after five wonderful years with NBC Sports spanning 82 races at 32 different tracks across the country, the time has come to switch gears.

I am thrilled to be joining the championship-winning team of Joe Gibbs Racing in Charlotte as Creative Projects Manager. Yes, this mountain girl is making a move to the good ‘ol South!

I’m currently reading Steve Harvey’s book Jump. For any of those needing some life lessons and encouragement (which I know I can always use!), I definitely recommend checking it out.

There are many phrases in the book that struck a chord with me, but this paragraph was especially powerful –

“You can stand on that cliff of life and be forever safe. You can avoid the cuts and tears. If you don’t jump, I have another promise: Your parachute will never open. You’ll never know what greatness God really has in store for you. He has promised a wonderful life for you. Your Bible says that He comes to give you life and life more abundantly. If I were you, I would jump. That’s the only way to get to that abundant life. You have to jump. You have to take a chance, or you’ll have more of the same.”

So here I am, making that “jump.” Only God knows what the future holds, but I am very excited and grateful for the opportunities that lie ahead.

“Though you may not know exactly what your journey will be to bring you to your dream, be open to the process, and seize the opportunities God presents to you.”

Thank you for blessing my life beyond measure, NBC. I love you all more than words can say.